


William's Boys

by Patt (PattRose), PattRose



Series: William's Boys Series [1]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: 2011 The Sentinel Big Bang, Angst and Humor, Drama, Established Relationship, M/M, Sibling Rivalry, Slash, Wordcount: Over 10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-11
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-25 22:53:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 50,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/275743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/Patt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/PattRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How does Jim feel when he hears the news about his father having a heart attack?  Will he and Steven grow closer or will it force them further apart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. William's Boys and Family

Title: William’s Boys  
Author: Patt  
Email: PattRose1@aol.com  
Word Count: 10,658  
Summary: How does Jim feel when he hears the news about his father having a heart attack? Will he and Steven grow closer or will it force them further apart?  
Artist: Zelempa  
Beta: Alex, Kelly, Kerensa, Debbie S and Susan.  
Warnings: Bad language, m/m, angst  
Genre: Slash, established couple.  
Authors Notes: This story is for Bee, aka Bianne Bobbitt. She gave me tons of story ideas, but this one she really wanted. I didn’t get it written in time before we lost her, so it’s for her now. I know she’s in heaven smiling down having some new Sentinel fic to read that she inspired. We miss you, Bee.  
Author Notes 2: Thank you so much to my betas. (Alex, Kelly, Kerensa, Debbie S and Susan) You made a simple story shine and I’ll be forever grateful to all of you. I don't want to forget to thank my wonderful artist, Zelempa. Isn't this cover, just perfect for the story? Thank you so much.

 

  
[](http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/PattRose1/Williams%20Boys%20Big%20Bang%202011/?action=view&current=boyscover.jpg)   
  


 

The loft was quiet when the ringing of the phone invaded the darkness. Jim fumbled for the phone and said, “What?”

“Jimmy, this is Steven. Dad had a heart attack and he’s at Cascade General. I’m up here waiting to talk to the doctor. I thought you would like to know.”

Jim wiped his large hand across his face, hoping to wake up a little more. “How is he?”

“I don’t know, Jimmy. The doctor hasn’t talked to me as yet.”

“Do you want me to come down?” Jim asked.

“Well, I figured you would, since this might be the last time we see him,” Steven said, sounding quite upset.

“I’ll be down in an hour or two. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Jim answered.

“Don’t bother, Jimmy.” Steven closed his cell and became very angry with his brother. How could he even think about staying at home at a time like this? Didn’t he have any feelings for their father at all?

&&&&&

Jim hung up the phone and sat on the edge of the bed. Blair rubbed his back gently and said, “Your dad?”

“He had a heart attack and Steven wants me to go up there and sit with him. He got mad when I asked if I should come,” Jim explained.

“I don’t blame him for getting mad, Jim. You, Steven and your dad have grown quite close in the last six months. I can’t believe you even considered staying home after hearing this news,” Blair ranted as he got out of bed and began to pace.

“Steven was always his favorite, Chief, you know that and I know that. Why should I rush up to see him? His Golden Child is already there.”

“You sound like a five year old, Jim. Now get your ass out of bed and get ready to go. This might be the last time you get to see him. Get ready and I don’t mean maybe. I’ll go with you,” Blair ordered.

“You go back to sleep. I’ll take care of it myself. Don’t worry about it,” Jim said as he stood up from sitting on the bed.

“I’m going. Don’t argue with me again,” Blair said angrily as he pulled his clothes out to wear to the hospital.

Jim jumped in the shower, finished, and was followed in by Blair. Blair glared at him and said, “Don’t you even think about leaving without me.”

“I’m waiting, I’m waiting.”

Blair hurried as quickly as he could and exited the bathroom, steam following him.

“I just need to get my shoes on, and I’ll be ready.” Blair rushed up the stairs and put them on and rushed back down the stairs again. He walked over to Jim and hugged him close and said, “I love you.”

“I love you,” Jim replied.

“Now let’s go and see how your dad is doing.” Blair bossed, sweetly this time.

The drive to the hospital was quiet and fast. Jim hit all of the easiest routes, so that it wouldn’t take long.

As they got closer to the hospital Blair said, “Do you think it will look odd if I’m with you?”

Jim looked over at him and said, “If Steven doesn’t like it, tough. But I can’t imagine my dad even knowing that we’re there this morning.”

“He’ll know it, Jim. You wait and see. He’ll be thrilled that his boys came up and wanted to see him get better.”

They drove into the hospital parking lot and Jim found the closest space and pulled in. “Chief, I just want you to know that I might be an ass tonight. I’m really upset about this. I know you can’t tell, but I am. I don’t want him to die, especially now. I was going to tell him about you and me next weekend when I went over to visit him. I really want him to be around for that talk.”

“Jim, don’t worry about me. Just worry about your dad and your brother. He’s going to need support too. He needs his big brother to help him cope.”

“I suppose so. Did you bring a book?” Jim asked.

“Yes, I did. I know I’m not going to be able to see him, so I figured I would just be there for moral support. You can rely on me for anything, Jim, anything at all.”

&&&&&

Jim walked up to Steven on the seventh floor and said, “Have you seen the doctor?”

“Not yet. I’m still waiting. Thank you for coming, Jimmy.”

“Hello, Steven. I hope your dad will be just fine,” Blair said kindly as he shook Steven’s hand. Then Blair whispered Sentinel soft, “Hug, him.”

Jim went over to his brother and hugged him and Steven stayed in Jim’s arms for quite a while. When he finally composed himself, he pulled back and said, “The nurse said they had to restart his heart four times.”

“Jesus…” Jim almost whispered.

“It’s fucking scary, is what it is. Why don’t you tell your roommate that you’re fine here? He can leave,” Steven suggested.

“Steven there isn’t any good time to tell you this, but Blair is my life mate and he’s here for moral support.”

“Oh God, we can’t tell dad if he survives this. It would kill him for sure. Promise me you won’t tell him, Jimmy.”

Jim was getting pissed off and wanted to strangle his brother, but instead he said, “I’m not going to tell him on his death bed. But I do plan on telling him once he’s better. I should have told him before. Blair is the best thing in my life. You and dad would be better for knowing him. He’s the one that suggested that I see the two of you again and try to remain close. He’s a good man, Steven, so give him a chance.”

“I will give him a chance, Jimmy. I just don’t want dad to know right now. It might give him another attack. If he gets better, then tell him. But if he doesn’t get better it wasn’t meant to be.”

“I’ll play it by ear, Steven. Don’t worry about it,” Jim said coldly.

Blair watched Jim’s defenses come up and could see the wall between Steven and Jim. Blair knew he was going to have to do something, he just didn’t know what.

“Jim, I could take a cab home. That way you and your brother could talk about things,” Blair volunteered.

“No, I want you to stay here for me. I need you,” Jim pleaded.

There was little Blair wouldn’t do for Jim, so he smiled and said, “Then I’ll stay. Don’t worry, I’ll be here all night or as long as you need me by your side.”

Steven started to pace up and down the hallway and Jim let him. It was better than them arguing over Blair. Jim pulled Blair into a much-needed hug and Blair was so grateful. Jim really was a good man; he just had to be reminded of it now and then.

&&&&&

Jim and Blair were sitting and Steven was still pacing when the doctor called their names.

“My name is Dr. Spenser and I have some good news, I think. If your dad makes it through the next six hours, we’ll do triple bypass surgery this morning. We need him a little stronger than he is right now. So I would like for you to be very uplifting when you talk to him. He’s awake and in Cardiac ICU. We’ll keep him there until the surgery. Do you have any questions?”

Steven asked, “What if he doesn’t want to have the surgery?”

“Then he’ll probably have another attack in a week or a month and this time he might not make it. He has coronary blockage. His heart is weakened at this point, we need to get it stronger and replace the veins surrounding it. We do this every day of the week. I don’t want you to worry about the surgery, instead concentrate on keeping him alive. It’s going to be a long six hours. If he’s doing well at 9:00 this morning, I will be in charge of his surgery. I’m on call right now so if anything happens, I’m here in the hospital already. So don’t worry about him. Just keep him calm and we’ll do the surgery in six hours. He already signed the papers for it. He’s lucky to be alive,” Dr. Spenser said.

“What about upsetting him in any way, would that make his heart worse?” Steven asked. Jim knew what he was talking about and wanted to slap Steven.

“Don’t upset him. Now go and spend some time with him. Take care and I’ll see you at 9:00.” Dr. Spenser left the hallway and Jim said, “What room?”

“732,” Dr. Spenser called out over his shoulder.

They all took off for room 732 and Jim said, “Just shut up about me and Blair. Don’t start trouble, Steven,”

“I wasn’t going to say anything. I figured you would say something since you’re all open about it and all. Dad’s going to wonder why Blair is here. It’s not like he’s a family member,” Steven said hatefully.

“Jim, I’ll wait right here in this waiting room. Come see me when you need a break,” Blair suggested.

“That’s bullshit, Blair. You should be able to see him too,” Jim countered.

“He knows he wouldn’t be welcome, Jim. So leave it at that.”

Blair walked into the waiting room and pulled his book out of his backpack and pretended to read. He even made it look interesting.

Jim said, “Steven, don’t talk to me anymore. Let’s just get this over with and be done with it.”

Steven glared back at Jim and said, “That’s so much like the usual Jim Ellison crap.”

Both men didn’t even realize they were outside the door of their dad’s room. William said, “Boys, stop the arguing and get in here.”

Jim walked in first and looked embarrassed. “Hi dad, how do you feel?”

“What are you boys arguing about?” William asked, ignoring Jim’s question.

“It’s not important dad. The important thing is you get better and stronger for the surgery. So don’t worry about me and Jimmy.”

William looked at his sons and knew something was up. “Where is Blair?”

The question took Jim by surprise. He recovered and said, “In the waiting room down the hall.”

“Is that what you boys were arguing about? Whether to tell me about you and Blair? I already know, Jimmy, so go and get him so he can see me too. I’d like to say hello to him.”

Jim smiled sheepishly and walked out of the room. Blair was sitting there with his head leaned back against the wall, eyes closed and doing deep breathing exercises. Jim sat down beside him and said, “He wants to see you.”

Blair jumped about a foot off the sofa. “You’re kidding. Why in the world would he want to see me?” Blair asked.

“He said he already knew about us and he wants to say hello to you. So come on, Chief, get the lead out.”

Blair followed Jim into the room in ICU and the nurse came walking in and said, “You can’t all be here at the same time. One person, per hour, for fifteen minutes. Now, two of you get out of here.”

William said, “I would like to talk to Blair first.”

Jim and Steven looked surprised and Jim said, “We’ll be in the waiting room, Chief.”

The two brothers left the room and knew that they needed to be in there, but had to follow the wishes of their dad at the same time.

Blair walked up to the bed and touched William’s hand. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Ellison.”

“Please, call me William.”

“Okay. How are you feeling right now, William?”

“Like someone is standing on my chest. But that’s not important. I want to ask you to promise that you will take good care of my son if something happens to me. He’s a good man, Blair. But he gets a little lost sometimes. Maybe you could help him find his way.”

“I would be happy to help him find his way. But you’re going to be fine. You’re going to have the surgery in six hours and feel like a new person.”

“I hope so, Blair, because I’d like to see my sons more. Thank you for getting us all together.”

“It was my pleasure, William. Now let me leave you to sleep and Steven can come in next. Then Jim. How does that sound?” Blair asked.

“That sounds perfect. I’m exhausted, so I will go to sleep for a little while, but tell Steven to wake me up when he comes in. I want to talk to him too.”

“Be well, William. Goodnight.” Blair walked out of the room and smiled all the way down to the waiting room.

When he walked in, Steven jumped up and said, “Why are you here so soon? Did something happen?”

“No, he was tired. I told him to sleep for a while and you can see him next. He wants to talk to you. So give him an hour and then he wants you to wake him up,” Blair explained.

“Oh right, like I’m going to walk in and wake the dying man up,” Steven said hatefully.

“You know what, Steven? You can hate me all you want, but be civil to Blair. After all, he’s the reason that I have anything to do with you and dad. It was his idea. So keep the remarks coming my way. Leave Sandburg alone.”

“That’s so typical. You take a friend’s side instead of your dad and your brother. Classic Jim Ellison once again,” Steven said sarcastically.

“Just shut up, Steven. Don’t go in there and upset dad. Leave him be. If he can accept me and Blair then leave him alone,” Jim ranted.

“I’m an adult, Jimmy. I can do or say anything I please. So just shut up yourself,” Steven spat back.

Blair quietly said, “Both of you shut up. You’re acting like five year olds. Knock it off.”

Both men did just that. They both seemed a little embarrassed, as well they should have been. Their father was fighting for his life and they were fighting in the waiting room.

Jim finally said, “So what is your problem, Steven?”

“I can’t believe you chose this lifestyle. You seem like a normal man to me, but to find out this…it threw me,” Steven said softly.

“I’m still Jim Ellison. I just chose to be with a man, rather than with a woman. I thought you would understand.”

“Well, I don’t. I can’t believe you’re doing this and then to find out that dad already knew about it, makes me wonder if that’s what gave him the heart attack,” Steven said.

“Oh give me a fucking break. He seemed fine with Blair. It’s you that didn’t want to tell dad. He has accepted the fact; you could see it on his face.”

“Well, don’t expect me to accept it, because I think that it’s sick and perverted. You do whatever you want with your life, Jimmy, but don’t expect me to like it. And I’m not going to pretend to either.”

“Fine, you stay away from me and I’ll stay away from you,” Jim said coldly.

Blair stood between the two men and said, “Grow up, both of you. Think about your dad now, not this. We can discuss this anytime after the fact. But right now we need to keep your dad strong for the surgery. Steven it’s time for you to go and see your dad. It’s your fifteen minutes.”

“Fine, but don’t think you can boss me around like you do Jim. I think it’s sick,” Steven said as he walked out of the waiting room.

Jim just sighed and rubbed his hand across his face.

Blair sat down next to him and said, “Jim, this arguing has got to stop. It’s time to think about who is most important right now and that’s William.”

“I know. As always, you’re correct, Chief. But Steven’s pissing me off and I can’t stand him right now.”

“Again, Jim, what is most important right now? Is it you and how you feel about Steven? Or is it your dad and his heart problems?”

“I don’t know how you can stay so calm while he says bad things about us,” Jim wondered.

“I’m thinking about William and concentrating on that. I haven’t got time for either one of you right now. Straighten up, Jim.”

&&&&&

Steven walked into his dad’s room and he was already awake. “I can hear you boys arguing in my room.”

“Sorry, dad. It won’t happen again.”

“Steven why do you think we’re a family once again?” William asked.

“I know, it’s because Blair talked us all into it. I know that. And I’m grateful to the man, but that doesn’t mean I have to like the idea of him and Jimmy being together. Because I don’t.”

William looked thoughtful for a moment and said, “Then you’ll probably lose him as your brother. Do you really think that Jimmy being with a man is as important as having a brother?”

“Dad, why are you so forgiving and understanding. That’s not your usual MO.”

“Steven, I’ve made a lot of mistakes with you boys through the years and I don’t want to make any more. I’ve finally got both of you in my life and I’d like to keep you there. I think if you made an effort to talk with Blair and Jimmy together as a couple, you would understand them more.”

“Dad, I don’t want to understand. I think it’s gross and perverse,” Steven mumbled.

“Then you’ll lose your brother. I was hoping if I make it through this surgery, we could all be a family again. Except this time, Blair would be included. I guess I’ll have to see them privately,” William said sadly.

“I can’t help it dad. I don’t like gay people and I don’t want to understand them. I could care less,” Steven explained.

“Fine… Now would you send Jimmy in? I’d like to talk to him,” William asked.

“So are you pissed off at me now, dad?”

“Steven, you’re my son and I love you. Now go and get Jimmy.”

Steven nodded and left the room. He walked into the waiting room and said, “Dad wants to talk to you.”

“I’ll be right back, Chief.”

Jim headed to the room and walked in smiling. William was glad to see the smile on Jim’s face. “Hello, Jimmy.”

“Hello, dad. How do you feel right now?”

“I feel more rested and I feel better. I think I can do this, Jimmy. But I wanted to tell you that if I don’t, you’re the executer of my will. My lawyer has all of the instructions. Blair is even in my will. And Steven will fight that, I want you to be ready if I don’t make it.”

“Dad, please don’t talk like that. You’ve finally gotten back into my life, I don’t want you to leave,” Jim pleaded.

“It’s very nice to hear this from you, Jimmy. For years, I was a bitter old man and thanks to Blair, we are now a family again. I’ll owe him a debt for the rest of my life, however long or short it may be. He’s a good man, Jimmy. You made a good choice. I even had him checked out when I realized that you two were an item. I’m sorry about that, but I was afraid he wanted to be with you because of the Ellison money.”

“Dad, I don’t have that much money,” Jim joked.

“But I do, Jimmy. I needed to be sure he was a good man and not some slick individual that would try to take you for everything you had. I like him a lot. And if I do make it through this surgery, I would like to have dinner at your house every Sunday instead of mine. I’m old, I’d like to be invited somewhere from time to time. Steven can come, or he can stay by himself and be an ass.”

Jim smiled and sat in the chair next to the bed. William held his hand out and Jim took it. Before long, William was asleep. The nurse walked in and said, “As long as he’s sleeping so peacefully, I’m going to leave you in here for the time being. He’s doing very well.”

Jim leaned back in the chair and listened for Blair.

&&&&&

“So Sandburg, what do you want out of this entire thing?” Steven asked.

“First of all, my name is Blair and I would prefer you call me that,” Blair answered.

“I heard Jimmy call you Sandburg, what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is, that’s Jim. You’re not. So call me Blair, please.”

“Fine, Blair, what do you think you’re going to get out of this relationship? Jimmy isn’t the type who sticks. He can’t stick anything out. He wasn’t good at marriage and he isn’t good at relationships. So I have a feeling that you’re going to be dumped and hurt in the process. Why would you stay with him?”

Blair stood up and started to walk as he talked. “First of all, how long do you think we’ve been together?”

“A month?” Steven answered.

“Try two years. We’ve been very careful because he never wanted to upset your dad. But your dad knew all along. Shows what we know. I think Jim is good at relationships, just not with everyone. He and Carolyn didn’t work, but that doesn’t mean he and I won’t. He’s a wonderful man, Steven and I’m totally in love with him. He accepts me with all of my faults and I accept him with his. We’re a good couple. We both have flaws, but we both work at them all the time. He wanted to tell you at one time, but I refused to let him. I didn’t think you were ready to hear it and I guess I was right. But now I realize that you would never be ready to hear the news. We don’t need your permission, Steven, but it would be nice if you continued to have a relationship with Jim and your dad, together. I don’t have to be around. I was hoping some day that you would allow that, but I can accept your feelings and stay in the background. I don’t mind, because I love Jim that much. I want him to be happy and have his family. As long as I don’t come around, do you think you could still be part of his life?”

Steven thought for a second and said, “Give me time and I might learn to accept you two. It was quite a shock, Blair. But I’m listening to you and I like what I hear. You love my brother enough to stay in the background, while he has a relationship with his family. This is a man that truly loves the other one. So, give me time. I’m going to think on everything and try and work things out with Jimmy.”

Blair bounced in place and said, “Thank you for giving us a chance.”

“It’s no problem. I think I’m an ass for not listening to you before. I’m sorry for being so rude,” Steven said.

“Hey, it was a shock. It was a shock when it first hit me too. Believe it or not, we danced around our feelings for a very long time. Both of us were afraid to tell the other one. Now I look back on those days and almost laugh. We were such wusses.”

Steven started to laugh and said, “You know. I think my dad will make it and it’s partly because of you. He smiled when he talked about you, Blair. He likes you very much.”

“I hope everything works out all right. I wish you all well,” Blair said happily.

The two men both sat down and began talking about William. They both wondered what had happened to Jim, but neither of them said anything about it.

&&&&&

William woke up at 6:00 and smiled at his sleeping son, still holding his hand. “Jimmy, you can go home now.”

Jim stirred and then smiled. “Dad, you’re going to have surgery, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t want you fighting with Steven. Can you promise me to get along, even if you don’t mean it?” William asked.

“Well, I was listening to Steven and Blair and Blair, as usual, talked Steven into giving us a chance. He spoke from his heart and Steven listened. So I think we’re going to be just fine. You don’t have to worry, dad. Have the surgery knowing that Sunday’s will be at the loft for dinner every week. We’ll cook healthy for you too,” Jim added.

“That sounds boring,” William teased.

“We’re going to get you back in shape, dad.”

Dr. Spenser walked in and said, “You’re doing great, William, so we’re going to go ahead and do the surgery in about 30 minutes. We’ve got to get you downstairs to get ready for it. I’m afraid your son will have to wait in the waiting room.”

Jim stood up and hugged his dad as well as he could with William being hooked up to monitors and in a bed. “Good luck, dad. See you in a little while.”

“I’ll keep you posted after the surgery is over. Are you going to be in the waiting room on this floor?” Dr. Spenser asked.

Jim smiled and said, “Yes, we’ll be waiting.” He smiled once more at his dad and walked out of the room. He was scared shitless, but he didn’t want his dad to see that.

&&&&&

Jim walked into the waiting room and found Blair and Steven having a great conversation about the Aka and Mbuti Pygmy Tribes in central Africa. Jim was always amazed at the things Blair could get people to listen to. Steven was totally into the speech. Steven glanced up and looked shocked to see Jim there.

“Where is dad?” Steven asked nervously.

“They just took him down for his surgery. It’s going to be about three or more hours before we hear any news. I told Dr. Spenser that we’d be right here. If any of us have to leave, let’s always leave someone behind to watch for the doctor,” Jim stated.

“Did the doctor sound optimistic, Jim?” Blair asked.

“Yes, he did. He said dad had done really well all night long and they hoped for a full recovery.”

“Gosh, I can’t wait until the surgery is over. This is enough to make a person chew their nails,” Steven admitted.

“Don’t be scared, Steven. He’s in good hands. I asked the nurse if he did this surgery often and she said, ‘only every day’. So I’m not as worried now. I’m going to go to the gift shop and see if I can buy some cards. We could play some 5000 Rummy. Does that sound good to anyone else?” Jim asked.

“That would make the time go really fast,” Blair agreed.

“But I wanted to hear the end of your story about the Pygmy tribe in Africa. Couldn’t we do that first?” Steven asked.

“I’ll tell you the rest of that story while Jim is buying the playing cards. Go ahead, Jim, I’ll keep Steven busy,” Blair said.

“Okay, as long as you two are getting along, I’ll leave,” Jim said.

“Yeah, we made up and come to find out, he’s an interesting dude,” Steven confessed.

Jim gave a bark of laughter and walked out of the room. He knew that Blair could win anyone over, but he didn’t know how quickly he could do it. Blair **was** good. And he was interesting. Jim had to agree with that.

&&&&&

Jim smiled all the way down to the gift shop and found it closed. He rushed to his truck to run to the Quick Mart around the corner and buy a deck of cards. He knew when he got back there would be no parking left for him and he would have to hike in, but that was the way life went sometimes. He bought a deck of cards, a tablet and some pencils. He was quite proud of himself that he remembered all of that. Once it was paid for he drove back around the corner to the hospital and low and behold his spot was still there. He thanked God for that and pulled in and locked up his truck.

Jim took a quick moment to ask God to watch over his dad. Jim wasn’t a very religious man, but he needed help.

He took the elevator upstairs and found Blair and Steven still talking about Pygmies. It almost made Jim laugh, but he kept that to himself.

“All right, who is ready to get their butts beat in the card game?” Jim asked as he started to shuffle the cards, handing the tablet to Blair to keep score on and Blair said, “Did you want me to sharpen the pencils with my teeth?”

Steven started laughing and said, “He’s a hard one to keep up with Jimmy.”

Jim pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and handed that to Blair. They began to teach Steven how to play 5000 Rummy. The rules weren’t hard to understand and it was a fun game on top of that. They played for about four hours, all of them aware of the time passing and worrying inside.

Dr. Spenser came walking through the doorway and Jim and Steven stood right up. “He made it through the surgery, but he’s in a coma. This isn’t commonplace, so we’re a little concerned about that. He’s going to be in Cardiac ICU until he wakes up and he’s on a vent. He can’t breathe on his own yet. So for right now, I say just stay here and pray for your dad. Every hour one of you go in there and try to reach his subconscious. If he wakes up, he’s got a chance. If he doesn’t, he might be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. We want to see him wake up. If there is anyone that needs to see him, they should probably come now. I will keep you posted throughout the day. I’m sorry I didn’t have better news. But as far as the surgery went, it was smooth as silk. If and when he wakes up, he’s going to have a new lease on life.”

Dr. Spenser walked out of the room and both Steven and Jim looked scared to death. Blair knew he was going to have to help with this.

“Jim, why don’t you take the first visit, while I keep Steven company? And then while Steven visits him, I’ll keep you company,” Blair said.

“We can lie on this sofa and take naps in shifts, how does that sound, Steven?” Jim asked.

“I have to call work and tell them I won’t be in for the next few days,” Steven said.

“I do too,” Jim replied.

Blair said, “Jim, I’ll take care of Simon. You go in and visit with your dad. Do a lot of talking. If it’s all right, I thought I would go third and tell him how well his sons are doing.”

Steven smiled and said, “He would like that.”

Jim smiled too as he left the room to go and sit with his dad.

&&&&&

Blair went on to tell Steven about the Mbuti Pygmies in Africa. He told Steven how small they were, how much he respected their tribes and where they lived. Blair was surprised when he found they lived in a very sunny section of the jungles of Africa. You think jungles and you think dark and gloomy, but not so in this case. The jungle where they lived was bright and very colorful. Blair continued to tell Steven all about this story and it was keeping Steven more than busy. Steven was interested and asking questions. Blair was pleased.

&&&&&

Jim walked in and saw his poor father on the ventilator and wanted to cry. His father didn’t deserve this for the end of his life. Jim sat down and held his father's hand once again.

“Dad, you’re not going to believe this, but Blair has not only brought Steven over to our side, but Steven seems happy with all of us. I’m telling you, Blair is a miracle worker. I know you like him, everyone likes him. He’s a very likable guy. But I want you to know that I love him more than life itself. He’s my better half and I will be by his side until I take my last breath. We’ve been together for a long time dad and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about us. I should have, but I was being a chicken shit as usual. I’m a very strong man, usually, but when it comes to you, I become little Jimmy Ellison again. I wanted to please you and I didn’t think this type of news would do that. Who would have thought that you would accept Blair and welcome him with open arms? Not me. Dad, you were never really open about anything, so I’m still in shock about all of this. I’m so glad that Blair talked me into getting together with you and Steven again after all those years. Wasted years, is what they were. We could have been a family the entire time. We’re not going to do anything like that ever again. Understood, dad?”

Jim was quiet for a moment and just listened to the monitors and the vent machine and looked at his frail looking father.

“Dad, it’s almost time for me to leave. I want you to know how much I love you and that I would be lost if you didn’t wake up. So please wake up. Okay?” Jim leaned down and kissed his dad on the forehead. Then he left the room.

He knew that in 45 minutes, it would be Steven’s turn to try and get some type of reaction out of him.

Jim walked in and found a sleeping Steven on the couch. Jim walked over to Blair and kissed him. He didn’t care who saw him, he needed Blair at that moment and Blair held on to Jim for dear life. That’s exactly what Jim needed. He finally pulled out of Blair’s arms and said, “I love you so much, Chief.”

“I know you do,” Blair answered.

“He didn’t even know I was in the room,” Jim said sadly.

“He knew Jim, but he just can’t come back yet. Give him time. We’ll let Steven sleep until it’s his turn to talk to him and then we’ll let you sleep,” Blair said.

Jim couldn’t help it, he kissed Blair again. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Chief. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Why thank you, man. That’s a really nice thing to say. I love you, too. We were just meant to be together.”

Jim sat down with Blair and they waited until it was time to wake Steven up to see William.

&&&&&

In William’s room the nurses fussed over him and tried to make him as comfortable as they could. They knew that chances were, he wouldn’t join them again in this lifetime. They had seen this so many times before. As they walked out, Steven was walking into the room. He smiled at them and saw the look of pity on their faces. This pissed him off.

“Hi dad, it’s me, Steven. I’ve been sleeping in the waiting room, while I waited for my turn to come in and talk to you. First of all, thank you for making it through surgery. I didn’t want to lose my dad today. I don’t want to lose my dad any day. I know logically that you won’t be around forever, but I’d like to think you’re going to be around to see if I ever get married and have children. You’ve always said you wanted grandchildren. Looks like you won’t get any from Jimmy. So, it’s up to me now. Talk about pressure. I have someone that I’d like you to meet. Her name is Frances Miller. She’s a children’s lawyer and she is so nice. She is 32 years young and is totally in love with me. I’ve been dragging my feet for over a year now, but it’s time that you meet her. I’d like Jimmy and Blair to meet her too. She’s beautiful and quite charming. You’re going to love her. She comes from a large family and they are all very close. This is one of the things that bug’s me about her life. She adores her family and wants to stay close to them. I guess I just don’t get it. But today I’m learning how nice it is to have my dad here with my brother and me too. I just wasn’t looking in the right places. You both were there all along. All I had to do was reach out. I’m sorry for being so closed off and cold, dad. Some of it was your fault, but most of it was mine. Once I got older, I just didn’t want to change. But then I met Frances. She’s so nice and she loves me even with all of my faults. Yes, she does want children and I think if I were going to have any, she would be the perfect mom. Wait until you meet her, dad. It’ll give you something to look forward to. She’s going to knock your socks off.

I talked to Blair and found out that I don’t mind them being gay as much as I thought I did. It’s all a matter of getting used to it and I wasn’t giving them a chance in hell at first. But I’ve come around, dad. I love Jimmy and I want him to be happy. Geeze, sometimes I wonder what Blair sees in Jimmy, because he’s so damn smart and interesting, Jimmy just doesn’t seem like his type. Not that Jimmy isn’t interesting, he’s just not as interesting as Blair is. But then I see how they look at each other and know why. They’re in love. They were kissing when Jimmy came out of your room earlier. It didn’t freak me out near as much as I thought it would. I just pretended that I was asleep and let them do their thing. They talked softly to one another while I was resting and I realized they sounded a lot like Frances and me. There is no difference when you love someone, you love them. It doesn’t matter who it is.

My fifteen minutes is up, dad. I need to go out and let you rest some more. Please wake up, okay? Jimmy and I wouldn’t know what to do without you in our lives. Besides, life has just gotten really good for all of us. We need to try it out. This being a family might have some merits after all. I love you dad. Now rest and get better, quickly. Bye.”

&&&&&

Jim heard most of what Steven had said and he was moved by all of it. Steven had taken a 90-degree turn that was for sure. He could have been an asshole the entire day, but instead, he was being kind to both he and Blair.

Jim sat up and looked at his brother as he walked through the door. “I suppose you heard everything I said, right?”

“Shhhh. Blair is sleeping. I want him to rest before he gives 15 minutes to dad. He’s good, so I’m betting that if anyone could wake him up, it would be Blair.”

“You’re very cute when it comes to Blair. I just shocked myself. Did that just come out of my mouth?” Steven laughed.

“Sit down, lean back and close your eyes. It’s a nice way to relax a little in between visits. I’ll wake Blair up when it’s time.”

They both leaned back, side by side and rested their weary eyes. Jim didn’t even hear Simon walk in the door.

He touched Jim’s shoulder and whispered, “Jim.”

Jim almost jumped and asked, “What are you doing here, Simon?”

“I came to see my best friend in the world and see how his dad was doing,” Simon remarked.

Jim got up and said, “Follow me.”

Simon followed him to the elevators and they got on. Jim said, “I need some coffee. I can tell you about my dad in the cafeteria.”

They were quiet all the way down to the cafeteria and sat with their coffee at a table for a few moments.

“I take it he pulled through surgery just fine,” Simon assumed.

“Not really. He’s in a coma. He can’t breathe on his own and he’s not doing that hot. So things aren’t going as well as they had hoped. We’re taking turns going in and talking to him every hour on the hour. It’s Blair’s turn in ten minutes. That ought to be interesting. Thank you for coming up, Simon.”

“Joel, Henri, Rafe and Connor all said to tell you hello and wished your father a speedy recovery. Honestly, I think they really miss Sandburg. You do know that he sort of keeps things together in the bullpen, right?”

“Oh yeah, I know him well. He’s like a force of nature. You just can’t do anything about it, so get used to it.”

“We better get back up there, Jim.”

“Thank you for listening, Simon.”

Both men smiled as they got back on the elevator again. “Tell Sandburg, I said hello. I’ll come up tonight after work and see how you’re all doing.”

“Thank you, Simon. Now I need to get Blair up for his visit with my dad. See you tonight,” Jim called out over his shoulder as he left Simon on the elevator.

Jim walked in and said, “Chief, did you still want to talk to my dad?”

“Oh yeah, man, I did. Wow, how long have I been sleeping?” Blair asked.

“About an hour is all, Blair.”

“I’ll be Bach,” Blair said in his best Arnold Swartzanegger impression, as he walked towards William’s room and Steven and Jim both started to laugh.

“You have to love him,” Jim said quietly.

“I understand that now,” Steven replied.

&&&&&

Blair walked into William’s room and pulled a chair up close to the bed. He took William’s hand in his own and held on for dear life.

“William, I have often wondered if you were who Jim got his senses from, since you said you knew about them when he was young. Did you have the same problems with senses when you were young? I think you might have had some heightened senses and didn’t know what to do with them either. You learned to cope because yours might not have been so heightened, or having less of your senses acting up was easier. But I have a feeling that that’s what you’re doing right now. You’re in a zone, William. You need to come out of that zone now. Take deep breaths as much as you can with that machine doing the work for you and try to focus on me. Do you sense me, William? Do you hear me? I wish I knew what senses were heightened on you so I could work on those ones first. I’m going to go with hearing and sight for right now. Do you hear my heartbeat? Jim can hear it in a crowd. He recognizes it from anyone else. I don’t know how he does it, but he can find me anywhere. I’m hoping you can do that same thing. I need you to find me, William. Focus on that heartbeat of mine and try to squeeze my hand.”

Blair waited patiently and felt a small squeeze from William’s hand. “Good, now we need you to wake up and start to breathe on your own. We don’t want that stupid vent on you any longer then it has to be. Open your eyes, William and start breathing.

The nurses came running in and said, “He’s trying to breathe on his own. We need to get the tube out of him now. Can you leave?”

“He wants me to stay. Concentrate on me and my sound, William. Don’t listen to them and just take deep breaths.”

They took the tube out and William was breathing on his own. He finally opened his eyes and looked at Blair and smiled.

The head nurse said, “Let me go and get the doctor, he is going to be very interested in this.”

They left the room and Blair went closer to William and said, “Are you in a lot of pain, William?”

“Yes,” William croaked.

“I’ll have them give you something as soon as possible. I’m so glad to see you again. The boys are probably both sleeping and they’ll be pissed that they missed out on the action,” Blair teased.

William smiled again. He wasn’t quite up to laughing, but he could at least smile.

“Would you like me to go and get the boys?” Blair asked.

“You have to promise…” William said sounding exhausted.

“Promise, what?”

“He can’t know about me, Blair.”

“I can’t make that promise, William. I don’t lie to him and if he asks what happened I would have to tell him the truth. Please don’t make me have to lie to my best friend and lover.”

“Try to break it to him gently. I never wanted anyone to know.” William said softly.

Dr. Spenser walked in and said, “I can’t believe this. You are showing us all up aren’t you? I didn’t expect you to come to for some time yet. Now how is the pain?”

“It’s bad,” William answered, barely audible.

“Carrie, could you please bring me the morphine I had set aside for him just now, he needs it. We’ll give it to him in his IV so that it will go to work faster and he can rest easier.”

The nurse named Carrie left the room quickly and came back with a shot and put it in William’s IV.

Blair could see the pain leave William’s face and said, “Can I go and get Jim and Steven now?”

“Yes, they can come in at the same time and visit him before he goes back to sleep again,” Dr. Spenser said happily.

Blair shot out of the room and rushed into the waiting room to find both Ellison’s sound asleep and woke them up gently, but quickly and told them the news. Both boys went rushing for the room to see their dad.

They were gentle with him when they went in the room, but they hugged him none-the-less. They were so grateful to have him back with them. Blair stayed in the waiting room for them to join him again. They were in there for about 20 minutes and William lost the battle and had to go to sleep. Jim and Steven left with a new spring in their steps. The doctor had said he was doing beautifully and he would be transferred to cardiac surgical floor in two days tops. Maybe one.

&&&&&

Jim and Steven both came in and hugged Blair. Steven said, “You did it. Jimmy said if anyone could wake him up, it would be you, but I didn’t really believe it. But I do now. I believe in the power of love, faith and healing. I can’t begin to thank you enough for all that you’ve done for us.”

“It was my pleasure. I like William. I always have,” Blair said softly.

“Chief, the doctor said to go home and rest because dad is doing well, so let’s go home for now. We’ll come back up in a few hours.”

“Sounds good to me. I miss our bed,” Blair said.

“Well, I’m going to shower, go and find Frances and tell her the news and then get some sleep,” Steven said as he stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

“Wait a minute. Who is Frances?” Blair asked.

“You’ll meet her tonight. I’m going to bring her up to meet dad. I’m going to ask her to marry me next week, I think. I just decided that this second, so that’s not for sure yet.”

“Oh wow, what does she do for a living?” Blair asked.

“She’s a children’s advocate lawyer. She doesn’t make a whole lot of money, but she loves her job and she’s really good at it. If you ever know a child that needs help, call for Frances.”

“Congratulations, Steven. I can’t wait to meet her,” Jim said as enthusiastically as he could with getting no sleep to speak of.

“Listen, we’ll see you here tonight. Talk to you then,” Steven said as he headed for the elevator.

Jim and Blair gathered up Blair’s backpack and the notepad and cards and walked to the elevator.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be resting in our own bed,” Blair said happily.

“I have some things to talk to you about on the way home,” Jim said.

“Sure.” Blair could tell Jim wasn’t that happy with him.

They got into the truck and Jim started the drive home and he said, “Were you ever going to tell me that he has Sentinel abilities?”

“Whoa, how did you know this?” Blair asked somewhat surprised.

“The nurse said you kept talking to him about being in a zone and he needed to listen to your heart and wake up. I put two and two together and figured it out. Don’t you think it’s something you should have told me right away? Don’t you think it’s something I should have heard from you instead of the nurse?”

“Jim, he only has two senses that are heightened. He’s had them under control for years and he just needed some help this time. I didn’t think it would be that strange to know that the senses came from him. You never mentioned that your mother had them, so I guessed it might be him. It is genetic, so I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out before I did. ”

“I still don’t like being told this shit by someone I don’t even know. And now she thinks my dad is some sort of freak or something,” Jim said fuming.

“That’s all in your head, Jim. No one thinks anything about anyone. You just feel like a freak, so now you think people think your dad is one too. Just stop it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You got your dad back today, so that should be enough to keep you going, but it’s not. You’ve got to complain about it until I want to strangle you.”

“Just shut up, Blair.”

Blair looked at Jim and realized that he was really angry. Blair also knew that he had no right to be. “Jim, there wasn’t time to tell you. The doctor told me to go and get you guys, so I did. If I would have slowed you down to tell you the story, you would have been upset about not seeing your dad right away. I can’t win with you. And you shut up.”

Jim pulled into the parking lot at the loft and turned off the truck. “I didn’t mean to say shut up.”

“Well, you did. And I think you did mean to say it. You have some thinking to do, and it’s not with me around. I’ll be sleeping in my old room. Thank you, very much.”

Jim sighed as Blair stormed off for the stairs to the loft. Jim knew that he could fuck up things faster than anyone else. It was up to him to un-fuck this.

Blair showered and got into his old bed and was asleep within moments. He was really tired. He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep because he was angry with Jim, but his body took over and he went right to sleep.

Jim took a shower and looked in on Blair after he was done. Blair was so fucking sweet when he was sleeping. Jim got into the small bed with Blair and began to kiss Blair on the neck and moved around to kiss his chest.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m pissed off at you and I’m staying that way. Now, get out of this bed,” Blair demanded.

“I’m sorry, Blair. I’m truly sorry. I love you more than anything and I can’t live without you by my side. Forgive me and we’ll start over again. I promise I won’t be a grump this time and I won’t holler, I won’t yell and I will love you forever.”

“In that case, let’s take this upstairs, this bed is too fucking small,” Blair said as he dragged Jim off the futon and they rushed up the stairs as quickly as they could.

Once upstairs, Jim and Blair both were naked within seconds and kissing one another, everywhere you could imagine kissing a person. They were both right on the edge and Jim asked, “Can I fuck you, babe?”

“Fuck me now,” Blair replied.

“Slow down, I need to get you ready.” Jim pulled the lube out and began a slow but steady stretching routine that they were used to, but Blair seemed in a hurry tonight. That was one thing Jim never hurried was his lovemaking.

Once he was ready, Jim pulled Blair’s legs up around his waist and pressed his cock into Blair’s hot, tight, channel. Jim never tired of this. It was like coming home every single time. Blair was moaning and begging making it even sexier then it was usually. Jim knew he wasn’t going to last long. He reached down and started fisting Blair’s cock and within moments Blair came, throwing his head back, moaning Jim’s name. Jim plunged in three more times and came forcefully as he growled, ‘Blair’.

They cleaned themselves up, told each other how much they loved the other one and then went to sleep in one another’s arms. Jim set the alarm for 6:00, so they wouldn’t sleep too long and that was the last thing he remembered.

&&&&&

Steven went home and found Frances there looking worried and upset. “We had plans last night and you never came home.”

“I’m so sorry, Frances, my father had a heart attack and I’ve been at the hospital since then. I should have called you, but I was so worried that something was going to happen, I didn’t call anyone. Not even my boss. He probably wonders where I am too,” Steven admitted.

“Oh babe, I’m so sorry to hear that. Call your boss really fast, explain to him what happened and then we’ll talk.”

Steven was never so grateful to have someone waiting at his house. Yes, he was going to ask her to marry him as soon as he bought some type of ring. Maybe Blair could help him shop for one. He seemed to know about almost everything else.

Steven called his boss and took a week off. Then he went and sat by Frances and told her all about the night and morning. When he was done, she said, “Let’s go to bed. I’m tired just hearing about it, so I know you must be exhausted.”

They did indeed go to bed, but Steven made quiet love to his woman to let her know how much she meant to him. He had never loved her in this way before and she cherished it. Then before he even thought about it, he said, “Will you marry me?”

She got tears in her eyes and answered, “Yes, I will marry you and make you so happy you’ll never leave me, ever.”

“I don’t plan on it, Frances,” Steven said.

“Good, now let’s get some sleep.”

And they did just that.

&&&&&

At 6:30 that night, Jim and Blair were already up, dressed and ready to go back up to the hospital. Jim knew that that’s where Steven would be also. Their dad had his drawbacks, but he was a good dad now. He took time for each of them and spent all of his extra moments getting to know them over again. It was like a new beginning for all.

The drive up to the hospital was quiet. Blair was still half asleep, but Jim was quiet because he had been an ass earlier.

“Chief, do you forgive me for telling you to shut up earlier?”

Blair burst out laughing and said, “Jim, did it shut me up?”

Jim smiled and said, “No. But I still had no right to say, shut up to you or anyone else. I told that same thing to Steven. What is wrong with me?”

“Your dad had a heart attack, man. All is forgiven. Now concentrate on getting your dad better and less on worrying about what you did or said.”

“I really had a good time in our bedroom this afternoon. God, I love being with you. I think that Steven thinks you’re my first guy. I got that impression.”

“Really?” Blair asked.

“He acted like you were the one that turned me at first. Before he got to know you,” Jim said.

“Oh yeah, I came on to you and said, ‘come here you straight man and let me fuck you,’ like that was ever going to happen in real life,” Blair said.

“I don’t know, Blair, you’re pretty damn cute and persuasive.”

Blair burst out laughing and said, “I’d like to tell him that you were my first. I wish we were each other’s firsts. That would be something. But real life got in the way and reminded us that we love men.”

“Don’t you mean, loved?” Jim asked smiling.

“Yes, I mean, loved. I only love one man now and he’s forever,” Blair said as he blew a kiss to Jim.

Jim smiled all the way to the hospital. Blair smiled knowing he had put that smile on Jim’s face.

&&&&&

Jim and Blair arrived at the parking lot at the hospital, exactly the same time as Frances and Steven.

Steven got out and held her hand as they walked over to the truck. “Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg, this is Frances Miller. Frances, this is my brother Jimmy and his lover, Blair.”

“It’s so great to meet you both. I’ve heard all about you all evening long. Steven is quite taken with you, Blair. He said you’re one of the most interesting people he’d ever met,” Frances said.

“He is interesting,” Jim replied.

“I think that Steven just likes hearing stories about little short men in Africa.” Blair laughed when he saw the look of horror on Steven’s face.

Jim and Frances laughed too.

“He was telling me about that. When were you in Africa?” Frances wondered.

“Oh, I wasn’t. I was just trying to keep his mind off his dad just having a heart attack. That method seemed as good as any that came to me at the spur of the moment,” Blair teased.

“So you’ve never been to Africa?” Steven asked.

“Nope, can’t say as I have. Now, I have been to South America. I loved being in Peru. I love Canada and Mexico. Ask me about those places, Steven,” Blair dared him.

Steven looked at Jim and Jim said, “He has been to many places, so you never know with Blair. He’s been to Europe, South America, Mexico, Peru and God only knows where else. Oh yes, Canada. Can’t forget Canada.”

They all walked into the hospital and got onto the elevator. When they got off on the 7th floor, William’s room was empty. Jim found the nurse quickly and asked where his father was. “Oh don’t worry, Mr. Ellison, he’s on Cardiac Surgical. That’s the 8th floor and he’s in room 805. You better hurry; it’s almost the end of visiting hours.”

They got back on the elevator, and took a quick trip up one floor and found 805 and walked in. William was sitting up in bed smiling.

“It’s about time you boys got here. I was getting tired of sitting in one spot. You missed all of the excitement. I was able to walk to the bathroom by myself, so they moved me right up here and said I was too healthy for ICU. It’s good to see you all, but I’m afraid I don’t remember who this lovely lady is.”

“Dad, this is my fiancée, Frances Miller. I asked her to marry me tonight and she said yes, even though I didn’t have a ring. We’re going to shop for a ring together. We decided on the drive over here that would be a perfect way to get exactly the right ring,” Steven said happily.

William said, “Finally, a wedding. Will it be a large one?”

Frances smiled and said, “I have six brothers and four sisters, so it’s going to be fairly large just for my immediate family. It’s so good to meet you, William. I’ve heard so much about you and wanted to meet you, but was afraid that I was being too pushy.”

“You have to be pushy with my boys. That’s one thing I know for a fact. Push and they will do what you want them to. Just call me next time you wonder about anything. I plan on being around for a good long while,” William joked.

Jim hugged his dad and said, “I’m glad.”

Steven, not to be outdone by his brother hugged his dad too and said, “I love you, dad.”

“I already told him while he was sleeping,” Jim said.

Blair said, “Is it just me, or do they sound like competing five year olds?”

“Yes, that’s exactly the way they sound,” Frances agreed.

“Well, I wouldn’t have them any other way. They are my boys and I love them no matter what. Thank you all for coming up tonight, but I’m tired. I’m going to get some sleep and hopefully the four of you will too. Oh, Jimmy, Simon stopped by and saw me for about a half hour. It was nice of him to stick around and visit with me. I think he didn’t know how to get out of it. So call him tonight and thank him, okay?” William asked.

“I’m going to go to work tomorrow, dad. I’ll visit you at night, if that’s all right,” Jim asked.

“That’s fine, Jimmy. Maybe someone could bring me something to read,” William said.

Blair pulled his backpack off his back and opened it and handed a book to William. “This will get you started William. She’s a very funny writer and I think you’ll like the stories. She has 16 books in the series, so I’ll bring you one every few nights. Now relax and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow evening.”

Frances said her goodbyes and walked out with Steven. Then Blair and Jim did the same.

As soon as they got in the truck, Jim said, “If I wasn’t dating you, I’d make a run for his girlfriend.”

“I’m going to run you, big boy.”

“Oh goody.”

And Jim knew that Blair would do just that.

The end


	2. William's Family

William’s Family  
By Patt

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/PattRose1/?action=view&current=WilliamsFamily.jpg)

William Ellison got out of the hospital five days after surgery on his heart and was feeling just fine. Now, one month later, he had a new lease on life. He was going to watch what he ate and take better care of himself. That meant walking. He needed to stay around a few years more and control those boys of his. Besides, it looked like Steven was going to be getting married and that Jim was thinking about getting a house with Blair. Or at least that’s what the boys had told him. It all gave William a wonderful way to look at his world. He had lots to do and should be around for a long while to do it.

He was sitting in his house, wondering what he could do in the garden when there was a knock at the door. William looked out the peephole that Jim put in for him and saw it was Jim and Blair. He opened up the door with a huge smile on his face and said, “Come in-come in.”

“Dad, you’re supposed to be resting. You have your gardening clothing on. You can’t resume everything for another two weeks. Didn’t you listen to what the doctor said?” Jim asked, sounding somewhat annoyed. 

“I was bored, Jimmy. I don’t have anything to do. I did my exercises that the hospital told me to do, and then that left the entire afternoon. What am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?” His father tried to look as stern as he could, but it was hard when he was still in some pain and arguing just made it worse. 

Blair noticed the look of pain on William’s face and said, “Sit down we want to talk to you.”

William let Blair lead him to the living room and he sat down in his recliner. William had to admit it did feel nice just to relax a little bit in his favorite chair. 

“Okay, I’m sitting where is the talking?” William teased. 

Blair snickered as he and Jim sat down side by side on the sofa across from William. 

Blair then smiled at William. “We know you’re going to get bored, so we’ve been looking up things for you to do that will keep you busy and also have you interact with other people your own age. Do you mind us giving some suggestions?” 

“No, Blair, I would love it. I am bored out of my mind.”

“Okay, first of all, we checked into a senior citizen meal site that is about six blocks from here. You could walk there each day and spend the day with some of these people. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday they play bingo, starting at 9:00 in the morning and, play until lunch, and then start again after lunch until 2:00. They look for volunteers to help get the tables ready for lunch, so you could help out if you wanted to do something meaningful. Most of the people there are in their 70s and 80s. So you would blend well with them. What do you think of that idea?” Blair asked. 

“I’ve never played bingo in my life. I don’t see myself starting now. I think I’m past the trying something new stage, don’t you agree, Jimmy?” William asked. 

“No, I don’t agree, dad. We checked this place out and the people there have been going for years and they have all become very good friends. You’re missing that in your life. I want you to think about this idea. We put a lot of thought into everything we came up with. At least think about it more than two minutes before you shoot Blair’s ideas down. Okay, dad?”

“Okay, I will give it some thought. But I feel funny about going to a place where everyone knows everyone else and I would know no one.”

“That’s why we would go the first three times with you and get you used to it. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to continue going. But I think it would work out well. A lot of the folks bring their sons or daughters with them to the meal site, so it wouldn’t look at all strange if we went along. Jim would go on the first Monday, I would go on Wednesday and Steven could go on Friday until you get used to it. What do you think?” Blair asked. 

“I think it’s very nice that you boys are willing to put so much work into it, but it still boils down to the fact that I don’t think bingo sounds fun,” William said. 

“What do you think of Texas Hold’em Poker, dad?”

“They play poker?” William asked, suddenly much more interested than he was before. 

“Yes, they play poker all three days at a special table. Some of the men just don’t like bingo. So they started the poker game. I asked them if it was too late for you to join in, and they said there was always room for another person at their table. There are only five of them playing, and they play for nickels. A nickel a game doesn’t sound too bad to me,” Jim joked. 

“Yes, I would consider this idea. I could walk there if it’s only six blocks. And I wouldn’t need you boys to go with me except to get me started the first day. I’ll be a little bit nervous, you know?” William said. 

Jim smiled. “Yes, we understand that, dad. So I’ll come with you on Monday and we’ll walk together there and spend the day. I love poker, so it sounds fun to me, too.”

“You’d stay the entire day with me?” William asked, sounding very surprised. 

“You bet I would. Dad, I would do anything to make your life a little bit easier and a lot more fun,” Jim admitted. 

“Thank you, Jimmy and Blair. I don’t know what I would do without you two. Okay, without you four. I love Frances so much and she has really made Steven a better person, if you ask me,” William said. 

“I couldn’t agree with you more, dad.”

“We both love Frances too, William. But we love Steven also. Do you want to hear the latest news about them?” Blair asked. 

“What? Something great, I hope,” William replied. 

“I’ll let Jim tell you all about it.”

On cue, Jim said, “Steven asked me to be his best man and Blair to be one of his groomsman. The wedding is only a month away, so we’re going to have to go shopping soon for our tuxes and get more prepared. Steven wants to go this weekend. We’ll all stop over and say hello to you when we’re done shopping.” 

“That’s nice that Blair was asked. I think that Blair is one of Steven’s favorite people now. You can sure turn a person, young man,” William said laughing. 

“Not everyone, William. Frances has a couple of brothers that think we’re sick and twisted. Or was it twisted and perverted? Jim, which one of these are we again?” Blair laughed. 

Jim laughed along with Blair and said, “It doesn’t matter. Steven and Frances ignore them, so we do too. Not everything can be rosy, you know?”

“Now what other ideas did you have for me to keep me busy?” William asked. 

“Blair checked with the library four blocks away and they need a children’s story teller twice a week. On Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 to noon, you would read to preschoolers and kindergartners. What do you think of that idea?” Jim asked. 

“That’s a wonderful idea. I’m not going to get any grandchildren anytime soon, so I guess I could spend time with other people’s children. This sounds doable. How do I see about this, Blair?”

“It’s already in the works. I was hoping you would like the idea and I set it up for tomorrow. The librarian’s name is Stella Wilson and she’s going to be ready to take you under her wing tomorrow at 10:00. Good luck, William,” Blair said. 

“The library is only four blocks away? That’s a shame that I didn’t know that,” William said. 

“It’s okay, dad. We all do this in our lives. When you have to change things is when you become more aware. Blair and I are going to be cooking nothing but good meals on Sundays from now on. You’re going to keep those arteries unclogged, if we have anything to say about it.”

“Thank you, Jimmy. You and Blair are both so good to me. I could never thank you enough. Well, that gives me five days of things to do. That’s more then I ever dreamed would happen. I can’t wait.”

Jim beamed with joy over his dad liking him and Blair, both. “You’ll have the rest of the week to rest up a little bit before we start the meal site on next Monday. It’s going to be great, dad. But you take it easy today and the rest of the week.”

“Okay, you boys go have a nice rest of the day off,” William said as he started to get out of his chair. 

“We thought you might want to go shopping with us for the tuxes, dad. Steven told us where to get them and what to get, but you can tell us if they look good or not,” Jim said. 

“I would love to go, thank you for asking me. I’ll be right down. I want to get something better on for shopping,” William said, happily. 

“Dad, we’ve both got jeans on. Your jeans are fine. Where is Sally?” Jim asked. 

“She’s off today, so I was a little bored. She usually keeps me company since I got home, but today was her day off and she had plans. Thank you, boys, for picking up the slack,” William said smiling. 

The three men walked out to Jim’s new SUV and Blair opened the door for William to sit in the front seat. 

“Blair, I would just as soon sit in back. I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

“There will be trouble, sir, if Jim sees you in the back seat,” Blair said. 

William nodded and got into the front seat and smiled at his son. “Again, thank you for thinking of me on your day off.”

“You’re welcome… Everyone buckled up?” Jim called out as he pulled away from the curb. 

*

 **The following day:**

Frances Miller, fiancée to Steven Ellison, was fairly upset. That morning, three of her brothers and one of her sisters informed her that they wouldn’t be part of the wedding ceremony because there were going to be two fags in it. They didn’t want anything to do with Frances’s wedding from that day forth. She had cried all morning after she got the phone calls, but now she was past that and was just downright pissed off. 

She picked up the phone, dialed Steven’s number and said, “How do you feel about a civil ceremony?”

Steven was right in the middle of a meeting with a client and said, “I’ll call you back in a moment.”

Frances hung up the phone and got depressed again. She always thought that her family was very open minded, but come to find out they were closet bigots just like a lot of the world. Now she just had to see if Steven would marry her at the court house. She had always dreamed of a huge wedding, but dreams weren’t everything. In fact, they were usually ruined by someone or something. She paced the living room until the phone rang. 

“Hello?” She answered. 

“What happened?” Steven asked, quickly. 

“Three of my brothers and one of my sisters won’t have anything to do with the wedding as long as Jim and Blair are in it. They don’t want to be associated with fags. That’s what they called them, Steven. I don’t even know where to turn. I want to have a civil ceremony as quickly as possible and I’m not even telling them.”

“Calm down, Fran. You know you want your family to be a part of our wedding, so we’re going to have to work something out. Do you have any other ideas?” 

“Steven, why won’t you marry me in front of a judge? I’m sure Jim and Blair would stand up for us and we can have a reception afterwards and if my family wants to come they can, if they don’t want to come, they can lose out on it all,” Frances said almost crying. 

“We’ll discuss this more when I get home tonight. I don’t want your dream wedding to be at the courthouse. It won’t work, Fran.”

“Okay, we’ll talk when you get home. I’m so upset I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“What if we ask Jim to be my best man, but not Blair as my groomsman? We could have him doing something else, would that work?” Steven suggested. 

“But honey, he was so excited about being a part of our wedding. Remember when he said, he had never been in a wedding before?” Frances asked. 

“Yes, but he would want your family there and would totally understand, I’m sure,” Steven said as calmly as he could. 

“I guess we could talk to them and see what they say. I’ll talk to you tonight, sweetheart,” Frances said, before she hung the phone up. 

She paced some more and finally picked up the phone and called the loft to see if Jim or Blair were home. She was thrilled when Blair answered. 

“Hello?”

“Blair, I need to talk to you as soon as possible. It’s important. If Jim is home, he can come over too. Oh, I’m home by the way,” Frances pointed out. 

“I’ll be right over. Jim got called into work, but I still have the day off for a change. What about lunch?” Blair asked. 

“Lunch would be wonderful, thank you,” Frances replied and hung up after she said goodbye. 

*

Jim was at the station house when Steven called him on his cell phone. 

“Ellison.”

“This is the other Ellison. Could we meet for lunch?” Steven asked. 

“Sure, I’ll meet you at Olive Garden in about twenty minutes, how does that sound?” Jim inquired. 

“That would be perfect, Jim. See you then.”

Jim went over to Simon’s office and knocked on the door and entered when he heard Simon’s gruff, ‘what do you want, now?’. 

“Simon, I’m going to lunch and just wanted to tell you I’ll be gone for about an hour or more. Is that okay with you?”

“That’s fine, Jim. Now leave me alone so I can get this paperwork done for the commissioner. This is turning out to be a piss poor day, let me tell you.”

Jim smiled and walked out of the room before Simon changed his mind. He really wanted to know what was going on with Steven. He could hear worry in Steven’s voice when he had called. 

Jim went down to the parking garage, got into his SUV and took off for Olive Garden. At least he was going to get a good meal out of it. One really nice thing about his senses was that once he got into the parking lot at Olive Garden, he was instantly aware of all of the scents. He loved these senses sometimes. 

*

Blair arrived at Frances’s house carrying chef salads for both of them. He knew she loved salads as much as he did and would be thrilled with his choice. 

She opened the door and said, “Oh wow, this is what I was thinking about ordering if we went out for lunch. You’re good, Blair.”

“I knew something was wrong and figured that it might be easier to talk here at the house then at a restaurant. So let’s wash up and eat and you can tell me what’s on your mind.”

Frances began to fill Blair in on what had transpired and got tears in her eyes as she was telling him. She ended up with saying, “I told Steven I wanted to get married in front of a judge and he refused. I don’t know what to do now.”

“If I pull out of the Groomsman role that might make them happy enough to let the wedding go on as planned. And really I don’t mind at all, Frances. I was excited about being part of it, but I can sit with William and be just as excited. How does that sound?”

“Blair, I feel so terrible about all of this. It’s just so shitty, you know what I mean?”

“It’s called life, Frances. Don’t worry about it. Now throw that your family’s way and see if that doesn’t make them happy, okay?” Blair never mentioned once that he had already gotten a tux the day before while shopping with William and Jim. Blair would live, he knew that much. 

Frances got up and hugged Blair in his chair. “You are such a loving and giving man, I still feel horrible about all of this.”

“Don’t fret over it, Frances. Now call Steven and tell him the good news. That’ll make him worry less and everything will be fine.”

Frances did indeed call Steven and filled him in on what was said between her and Blair. Steven sounded a little relieved, but knew he was going to have to break it to his brother next. 

Frances got off the phone and asked if Blair felt like shopping for a wedding dress with her. “I have my dress picked out, but I want to be sure it’s ‘the’ dress, you know what I mean?”

“Sure, I’ll go with you. But wouldn’t your mom like to go?” Blair asked. 

“Blair, let me be angry at my family for a little while. Now let’s go shopping,” Frances said smiling and grabbing Blair’s arm in hers. 

*

Jim met Steven and could see the worry and sadness on Steven’s face. Jim walked up to him smiling and said, “Do you have a table yet?”

“Five more minutes, Jim.”

Jim leaned against the wall, just as Steven was, with his hands in his front pockets with not a care in the world. Nothing Steven could say would ruin his day. 

They got called to the table and placed their order. 

“All right, Steven, you’ve gotten my attention. What’s going on?”

Steven explained what had happened with Frances’s family and what Blair had offered to do. When he was done he just sat waiting for Mount Ellison to erupt. He didn’t have long to wait. 

“Steven, I don’t mean this against Frances, but we won’t be coming to the wedding. We don’t have to be included where we won’t be wanted. We take enough crap as it is, I’m sure not going to add this to the list. And Blair always wants to make everyone’s life easier, even if it breaks his heart. Do you know that we already bought tuxes? I’m just saying this isn’t going to work.”

“Jim, you have to be there. You’re my best man. Jesus, this is getting so ridiculous. Let’s talk about this,” Steven said. 

“No talking about it. We aren’t going and that’s that.”

“I’ll tell Frances what you said. I’m really disappointed, Jim.”

“Like I’m not?” Jim asked. 

Their lunch came, but neither of the men ate much. Jim picked up the tab and they left an hour later. Jim hugged his brother goodbye and left in his SUV. 

Steven watched the sad man walk to his vehicle and wondered how in the world he could fix this. He and Frances were going to have to think up something. 

*

Blair went home, not knowing that anything was up. Steven also went home, but he knew that something was up. He walked in the front door and Frances said immediately, “Oh no, bad news?”

Steven looked as if he wanted to cry. “I talked to Jim about what Blair said and he said they won’t be coming to the wedding. He feels that if ‘they’ think this way, he wouldn’t be welcome anyway, so he backed out and said he and Blair would be staying home.”

“Oh no. This is horrible news. I’m so angry at my brothers and my sister about this. If they could have just kept their opinions to themselves we would still be having a happy wedding. I don’t know about you, Steven, but I don’t even want to have a wedding now.”

Steven pulled Frances into his arms and said, “Let’s talk to dad about it, before we make any rash decisions. Okay?”

“Okay. Why don’t you call him and ask him to come over for dinner?” Frances asked sweetly. 

Steven called his dad, filled him in on what was going on and William said he would be over in an hour. Steven could tell that William was upset about Jim not being in the wedding. Hell, they all were. Why did Jim have to be so fucking difficult and stubborn?

*

Blair made a nice meal for Jim, knowing he probably didn’t eat as well as he should have during the day, no matter where he went to lunch. When Jim came walking through the front door, he looked like he had lost his best friend. 

“Hey, man, what’s wrong?”

“We’ll discuss it in a moment. I’d like to get my jacket and gun hung up if you don’t mind,” Jim snapped. 

“Fuck you, I don’t need to know what’s wrong with you. Figure it out yourself,” Blair snarled as he went back into the kitchen and finished dinner up. 

“Let me start over again, Chief. Hi there, the house smells great. I love when you make meatloaf. I had a really shitty day, but it’s no excuse to take it out on you. Sorry, Blair. Anything new happen today?” 

“Apology accepted, now tell me what’s really wrong?”

“We’re not going to Steven’s wedding. In fact, I signed us up for special duty that day at work,” Jim said. 

“Jim, you know damn well we can’t ‘not’ go to the wedding. This is your brother, damn it. He’s asked you to be his best man for God’s sake. Now tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Jim sighed deeply and said, “I hate it that her family hates us before they even meet us. They’ve decided already that we’re sick and twisted and they don’t want to be around that. They sure don’t want their kids to be around it. I think it’s best that we do what they want. This is Frances’s big day and we don’t want to upset her family.”

Blair started pacing and glared at Jim. “Are you afraid of her bigoted family and what they might say or do?”

“I’m not afraid of anyone. I just don’t think a wedding is a place to have a shouting match between family members and in-laws. It just sucks and I won’t put us through it. I decided it was in our best interest to work that day. It’ll keep our minds off of it and we’ll do just fine, Chief.”

“You didn’t ask me, Jim, and I would have told you the opposite. I’m going with your dad. You can work if you want, but I’m going to the wedding. You’re being an immature asshole,” Blair said, angrily and then walked into the office and slammed the door. 

Before Jim went and knocked on the door, he listened with his senses to see how Blair was doing. He could hear the sadness in Blair’s breathing and that was enough for Jim. He finally knocked. “I have a counter offer.”

Blair walked out and looked into Jim’s sad eyes and said, “What?”

“We both bow out of the wedding party and we’ll both sit with my dad in the pew. What do you think of that?”

“I like that. That way we won’t miss their big day. Call Steven and tell him right now, because he’s probably having a nervous breakdown,” Blair ordered. 

Jim picked up the phone and dialed while Blair set the table. 

“Ellison,” Steven said. 

“Steven, we talked it over and this is what we think is best for everyone. We don’t want to miss your wedding, but I don’t want to have to deal with her brothers and sister, so we’ll sit in the church with dad and record the wedding and you can ask one of her brothers to be your best man. How does that sound?”

“I don’t like it, Jim. You’re supposed to stand up for me. You shouldn’t care what anyone says or thinks. This is between you and me. Please think about it some more and then let me know. I’ll tell Frances what you said about the wedding and I’ll see what she thinks about it. I’ll talk to you later, Jim. Dad’s here and I need to talk to him.”

Steven didn’t even say goodbye, he just hung up the phone. Jim knew he was upset. 

Blair said, “What did he think of your idea?”

“He thinks I’m a coward.”

“He said that?” Blair asked, incredulously. 

“No, but it was in his tone. He thinks I should still be his best man and tough up. He asked me to think about it for a couple of days.”

“Then let’s think on it for a couple of days. He’s probably only going to have one wedding, Jim. Let’s at least give it some time for thought.”

“All right…Could we eat now? I’m hungry, believe it or not,” Jim said shoving Blair into the kitchen area. 

*

Steven told his dad and Frances about what Jim and Blair had decided on and left it at that. He said that Jim was going to think on it a couple of days. 

William could feel the tension in the air and the bitterness coming from Frances towards her family. William didn’t want to be witnessing the couple’s first argument and felt uncomfortable being there. 

Frances was steamed up and wasn't going to calm down any time soon. "I really hate the way they, my family, have taken control of our wedding out of our hands. This is supposed to be one of the happiest times of my life and yet they are making everything impossible to deal with. I understand why Jim wanted to not come to the wedding. I don't want to go to the wedding at this point in time. I still think that a civil ceremony would be the best thing around. Steven, will you please think about it?"

"I'll tell you what will happen if we get married at the justice of the peace. Your family will think that my family got their way and they will be pissed off at both you and me. They might not forgive you too easily either. Also you have to think about me fitting in some day," Steven said. 

"Okay, this is what I'm going to do. I'm having a big family meeting and telling everyone that Jim is the best man, Blair is the groomsman and we aren't changing it. If they want to stay away from our wedding, it's their choice. I've made my decision, Steven."

Steven didn't agree with her at all, but he knew better than to argue with a lawyer, even if she was going to be his wife soon. 

Frances turned to William and asked, "So what do you think about this?"

"I think that Blair was very hurt about not being the groomsman and wished he could change things, but you also know that he tries to make everything work. So I wasn't surprised at his first idea. But I think I agree with you, Frances. If they don't like it, they get to make the choice to not come, not be in the pictures and not see their baby sister marry her true love. It would be their loss and I think they will realize it as soon as you give them the new ultimatum. Jim and Blair don't want trouble, but they also don't want to be treated badly at what is supposed to be the best day of your life. We'll see what they have to say about all of it." William hugged Frances because she looked like she needed one. She gladly accepted it. 

"William, I want to thank you for having two wonderful sons. I'm so happy to have both of them in my life, but especially Steven," she teased.

Steven snickered and said, "Well, I would hope you picked me over Jim. There are going to be days you'll wonder why you picked me."

"No days will be that bad, Steven. I promise, we're going to make the effort to make this work."

William stood up and said, "I know you both will. Now it's time for me to take my leave."

"Dad, you don't have to leave already. We haven't even offered you anything to drink yet," Steven said. 

"I'm fine. I feel better than when I first got here, so things are looking up. If you need any help with anything, let me know," William stated as he went to hug both of them. 

Steven and Frances returned the hugs and walked him to the front door.

*

William stopped by Jim and Blair's on his way home. He thought he would fill them in on what was going on. He already knew that Blair would be worried about Frances. Jim would probably just be irritated, for the sake of irritation, but they would probably be relieved to hear the news. 

He knocked on the door and Jim opened it up wearing a smile. "I thought you were going over to Steven's house tonight."

"I did. And now I'm here to tell you the latest of news, from Frances's lips to your ears. She's telling her family that you and Blair are both still in the wedding party and that's how life is going to be. She figures some might not come, but someday they will regret it and be sorry for it too. So, Jimmy, you are the best man and Blair, you are the groomsman. What do you think of that?"

Jim was first to speak. "I think she's making a big, big mistake. Someday she'll have to make amends with her family. It's such a mess. I'm so sorry we caused all of this."

Blair hugged Jim quickly and then looked him in the eyes and said, "Jim, we didn't cause anything. They did. What if you were married to a black woman and they didn't like blacks, would you have backed down from that?" 

"I guess not. Now you're saying that we should just keep things the way they are?" Jim asked. 

Blair smiled. "I just needed to hear that Frances felt all right with us being in the wedding. She's never really said too much to us about the whole gay issue, but I was hoping she didn't mind."

William asked, "You wanted to be in the wedding the entire time?"

"Hell yes. I've never had any family but my mom and I was hoping I could use Jim's to have a fun life. I've never been in a wedding before, so I was really excited about it. Weren't you, Jim?" Blair questioned. 

Jim smiled. "Yes, I wanted to be my brother's best man more than anything."

"I think everything will work out fine, boys. Just think, someday we're going to have a child in the family. Are you both looking forward to that?" William asked.

"Yes and no." Jim answered. 

"What do you mean, no, Jim?" Blair asked. 

"It reminds me that you and I will never have a family of our own," Jim confessed to a shocked Blair Sandburg. 

"They will be like your own, Jimmy and Blair. I promise. I love Rucker like he was one of my very own. Still do. He's coming to the wedding, by the way," William said. 

"It's not the same, dad. I thought about us adopting, but we're too old now."

"Who are you calling old, Jim?" Blair asked, looking for a fight, but wearing a smile at the same time. 

"I'm going to be forty soon and I think that's a little old to start your family," Jim said. 

"I don't agree, Jimmy. I was 35 when you were born. Even older when Steven was born. So I don't want to hear about how old you are from this point on. If you want to think about adopting you'll have to think up more than that for an excuse."

"Why am I just hearing about you wanting a family now? I had no idea you wanted children," Blair said. 

"We can discuss this privately, Blair." Jim answered quickly. 

"And don't think we won't, Jim."

William cleared his throat and said, "Time for me to leave. Don't forget about Rucker and Andy staying at my house. You and Blair can take them out a couple of times while they're here. Now, no arguing and have a good night together."

Jim said, "We're not going to argue, dad. There are too many other things to discuss, no time for arguing. Drive carefully going home." Jim hugged his dad at the door and stepped back. 

Blair hugged William next and said, "Thank you for everything you always do for us, William."

William smiled, opened the door, walked out and said, "My pleasure."

Jim shut the door and locked it and then watched from the balcony to be sure his dad got to his car all right. William waved at his son from the parking lot. Jim waved back and smiled. Then once his dad drove out of the parking lot, he turned to Blair and said, "I'm all yours."

Blair locked up the entire loft and said, "Let's talk upstairs where we are most comfortable."

Jim knew by the look on Blair's face that it was going to be a very long night. "Maybe it could hold for tomorrow night. I'd like to sleep sometime tonight."

"No, it won't hold for tomorrow. I would like to know when you first decided you wanted children. You've never said word one to me about it."

"Blair, you didn't seem that interested, so I didn't want to ruin a good thing."

Blair looked confused and then sort of angry. "Don't you think it's something we should have discussed before we started dating?"

"Second thoughts, already?" Jim asked, sarcastically. 

"Oh fuck you. You know I have no second thoughts when it comes to you and me. But I would have liked to know there was a chance of a family in this arrangement. You should have told me."

"You want a family too?" Jim almost whispered. 

"I adore children, especially ones that can't find good homes. We would be excellent parents to older children too. We'll start Frances on the hunt to help us as soon as she's done with the wedding," Blair said, smiling. 

"Sounds good to me, Chief. We'll just take our time. It's going to be just fine," Jim said happily. 

Blair started stripping out of his clothing and Jim followed suit as quickly as he could. Jim knew damn well he was going to get fucking lucky tonight and that worked for him.

They crawled into the clean sheets and smiled at each other. Jim reached over to turn the lamp off, but Blair stopped him. 

"Not tonight, man, I want to see exactly what I'm doing and seeing. I love you, Jim."

"I love you, Blair." Jim pulled Blair on top of him and they began to make out like crazy. They felt like it was the first time. Both of the men were right on the edge of coming and Jim said, "Stop."

"Why?" Blair asked.

"I'm losing control of myself and I don't want to come while we're just making out."

Blair went back to what he had been doing and Jim realized that now it was like a quest for Blair to make Jim come as quickly as he could. Jim decided there were worse things in life and went with his good feelings and came so hard, he thought his head was going to explode, throwing his head back and whispering, 'Blair' for only Blair to hear. 

Blair pushed into Jim's hip a few times and came all over Jim. 

They lay there quietly for about five minutes and then Jim said, "Let me up, Chief. I'm going to clean us up."

Blair moved and let Jim go downstairs to get the warm washcloth. He liked the chance to see Jim's ass any chance he could. God the man was built so beautifully. Sometimes it bothered Blair that he wasn't as cut as Jim was, but Jim didn't seem to mind, so Blair got over it. 

Jim came back with wet wash cloths and a glass of water for each of them. They both needed it, too. Jim cleaned them all up and they got under the covers and Jim turned off the lamp, this time with no objection from Blair. It wasn't long and all that could be heard in the loft were soft little snoring sounds from both men. 

*

Frances woke up in a very good mood. Steven always made her feel so good with sex that anyone would wake up in a good mood. Steven was already gone to work and that left her half a day to plan the big meeting with her family. She wasn’t going to let anyone push her around. It was as simple as that. She called her mom and asked her to call half of the family so they could all meet for dinner. Frances was kicking ass and taking names. Her mom asked what was going on and Frances said, “You’ll see tonight, mom.”

Once that was taken care of, Frances went to her office and dove into her work pile. There were so many kids that needed help, that sometimes Frances felt a little overwhelmed. But this was the life she chose. 

*

Blair called William to see how the day before had gone at the library. With all of the commotion that was going on, he had forgotten all about it. Jim was driving them to work when Blair heard, “Ellison.”

“I have one of you Ellison’s too.”

“Good morning, Blair. Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine but I wanted to ask how the library reading went yesterday. I forgot to ask, I can’t believe I let that slide right by me,” Blair said. 

“It was fantastic. The children told me I had a nice voice and they seemed happy with my choice of books for the day. I get to choose them every Tuesday and Thursday. I really enjoyed it and it gave me something to do besides work family problems out. Thank you for setting it up for me, Blair.”

“You are most welcome, William. I just knew you would make a great reader. You do have a terrific voice for it,” Blair said, smiling. 

“Thank you and tell that son of mine I said thank you, too.”

“He just said he heard you and you’re welcome,” Blair said. 

“Are you on your way to work?” William wondered.

“Yes, just wanted to check in with you and see how the library went. Talk to you soon,” Blair said before he closed his cell. 

“Thanks for calling him, Chief.”

“You’re welcome. I aim to serve,” Blair answered laughing. Jim joined in on the laughter all the way to work. 

*

The day seemed to fly for everyone except Steven and Frances. They were dreading the evening coming up. At first she was going to tackle her family alone, but Steven insisted on being part of it, since he was part of the package now. 

When 5:00 finally rolled around, both of them left their jobs and met each other at home. Then Steven drove Frances in his SUV and they were off to meet the family at Joe’s Crab Shack. They wanted somewhere loud, so the arguing wouldn’t be so noticed. Joe’s Crab Shack was always busy and booming with noise, music and laughter. 

When they arrived they got the table and waited for her family to get there. One by one, they came in with their husbands and wives and Steven felt a little out of place since he wasn’t actually a husband yet. But right now, Frances was all that mattered. 

Everyone sat down and ordered except for Frances and Steven. They didn’t plan on staying. 

“Why didn’t you order, sis?” Mike asked. 

Mike was Frances’s oldest brother and he was one of the ones that was raising hell. She cleared her throat, stood up and said, “I have something important to tell all of you and I’d like to be able to say it without interruption and then you can all discuss it when we leave. I’ve decided that this is my big day. It’s ‘my’ wedding and I want to ask the people I want to be in it. We’ve asked Jim and Blair to be in it and if you can’t accept that, then you’ll have to miss your sister's wedding. I’ve never missed one of yours. You never asked me about the person you were marrying or their families. I just went to the wedding and wished you well, each and every time. This is what I expect in return. No one will say anything about this, because the decision has been made. Now, we will leave you to discuss it on your own.”

Frances and Steven started leaving and Mike said, “So you’re picking a fag over your brothers?”

“Yes, I am, Mike. And I’m glad to do it. They’re kind and would never call you names. They are good men and you’ve never even met either of them. But yet you are quick to call them horrible names. If you don’t want to come to my wedding, I’ll have to learn to accept that. Now, talk about it and make your decisions. I need to know who is coming by this week. If one of you could call me, that would be most kind,” Frances said. 

Her family all started ranting and raving at once and Frances took Steven out of the restaurant. “I hate them when they are like this. I had forgotten how close minded they were. There is a chance that I might have to ask your dad to walk me down the aisle.”

“Fran, he would gladly do it, but I think your family is going to come around when they see you mean business. You didn’t fold under Mike’s evil glare and that was good.”

“I can’t stand Mike. He’s such a jerk. He was when I was young and he stayed that way. I couldn’t care less if he comes or not, and I mean that seriously.”

“At least we got this out of the way and they can make their decision,” Steven said. 

On the drive home, her cell phone rang and she answered, seeing it was her mom’s number. “Hi mom.”

“Hello, Frances. I just wanted to let you know that only ten of us are coming. Mike turned a lot of them against you tonight. I’m sorry, sweetheart. But your dad and I will be there, if that makes you feel better,” Mrs. Miller said. 

Frances had tears rolling down her face as she said, “Thank you, mom. I was so afraid that dad would say no.”

“And miss walking his youngest down the aisle? Never. They all might come around, sweetie. Give them time,” Mrs. Miller said. 

“I will mom, thank you for calling and letting me know. I love you,” Frances said. She shut the cell off and moved over closer to Steven and started to cry. 

“I knew this would happen and you would end up crying. That’s just what happened. I’m sorry, babe.”

“It’s tears of joy, Steven. Mom and dad are going to come. That’s all that really mattered. I wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle. In three weeks, we’re going to have a beautiful wedding and it’s going to be a happy one, damn it.”

Steven hugged her and when they came to a red light, he kissed her soundly. “I love you, Frances.”

“I love you, Steven.”

*

On the way home after work the next day, Jim asked Blair, “How would you feel about getting a real estate agent and looking at some houses? If we ever plan on adopting or whatever, we need to get a real home with a yard.”

“That would be great. I have a great agent picked out already. I told her that we would want to look at three or four bedroom homes and she said that she’s got some really nice ones to look at,” Blair answered. 

“How do you know her?”

“From Steven, she was a client of his and asked if anyone was looking for houses. He thought of us. I forgot to tell you about it. She called last week while you were in court. I’m sorry, Jim. I wasn’t thinking.”

Jim smiled. “That’s fine, Blair. What is her name?”

“Rita Murphy and she’s a really nice woman. Let me call her really fast and see if she’s got anything to show us tonight,” Blair said as he brought her number up on his cell phone. 

The phone rang and Rita picked her line up. “Hello?”

“Rita, this is Blair Sandburg, we spoke last week about a four bedroom house.”

“Oh yes, I was hoping you would call back. I have about nine with great potential to show you. They are in super school districts and fantastic neighbourhoods. You’ll love all of them. Prices are lower at this time, so you can get a good deal on a house. It’s a buyers’ market, for sure,” Rita said, happily. 

“When could we look?” Blair asked. 

“When is your next day off?” Rita wondered. 

“Saturday…”

“I’ll have them all lined up by then. We’ll start at 9:00 in the morning, if that’s all right with you,” Rita said. 

“That’s perfect. Do we meet at your office?” Blair inquired. 

“That would be wonderful. Do you know where I’m located?”

“At 9579 Kolb Road, suite 200?” Blair asked. 

“That’s it. We’ll see you on Saturday at nine,” Rita said. 

“Thanks for everything, Rita. See you then.” As Blair shut down the phone he realized he didn’t know if she knew they were gay or not. He should have asked. He called her right back and she answered just as quickly. 

“Hello?”

“Rita, I never mentioned that I have a domestic partner, or life partner, whatever it’s called now. I just wanted you to know that up front,” Blair said. 

“Oh, I knew. Steven told me all about you boys. Don’t worry about a thing.” Rita hung up her phone and smiled. Blair seemed like a very nice young man.

“Why did you have to tell her that?” Jim asked when Blair closed his cell phone. 

“We’ve had enough misunderstandings about us being gay already. I didn’t want another one to happen. It would have ruined looking at houses.”

“You’re right, Chief. She should know anyhow,” Jim admitted. 

Blair beamed with happiness because, for a change, Jim was admitting that he was right. “Saturday it is. We’re officially looking at houses.” 

“It’s going to be great, Chief. Don’t you worry about a thing. Then if you don’t mind, we could rent the loft out to Daryl while he’s in college,” Jim suggested. 

“Only if he keeps his GPA up. That will have to be a stipulation. We’ll rent it to him cheap, so Simon won’t have to help him.” Blair said, thoughtfully. 

“It’s your turn to make dinner, Chief,” Jim said as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the loft. 

“It is not,” Blair said, sternly. 

“It is, too.”

“Fine, you baby. I’ll make tomato soup and grill cheese sandwiches, how does that sound?” Blair asked. 

The evening went well. Comfort food always seemed to do the trick for whatever ailed them. 

“I’m going to go with my dad tomorrow to the Senior Meal Site and get him set up, so he has something to do. I’ll be late for work. You’ll have to drive your car,”

“Good idea, Jim. Now how about some making out?” 

Jim liked that idea. 

*

The next day in the bullpen, Connor walked up to Blair and said, “Sandy, where is Jimbo? Not that I’m missing him or anything, but you look lost without him.”

“Very funny, Connor. Will you please stop calling him Jimbo? It drives him nuts,” Blair explained. 

“I know it does, but that’s why it’s fun. Now where is he?” 

“He had some errands to run with his dad today and he’ll be a little late,” Blair said. 

“How is his dad doing since the surgery?”

“He’s doing great. You would never know he just had his chest cracked open six weeks ago. He’s doing fantastically. I’ll tell him you asked about him. He’ll like that.”

“I better get busy. Simon’s giving me the evil eye from his doorway. Talk to you later, Sandy,” Connor said as she hurried off to finish her report before she got yelled at about it. 

At ten, the elevator opened and Jim walked out. Everyone greeted him as he walked towards his desk. “Hey Chief, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing fine now. You’re doing some of this paperwork. There is a ton of it and I’m not doing it all,” Blair joked. 

“Sounds fair. Hand my share over.” Jim took the pile from Blair and started working on the first file. 

Connor walked over and said, “Jimbo, would you and Sandy like to have lunch with me?”

“His name is Sandburg or Blair. Not Sandy,” Jim snarled. 

“It’s no use, man. I’ve tried to talk sense into her. It doesn’t work,” Blair said as he snickered. 

“Why do you want to have lunch with us?” Jim asked. 

Megan Connor frowned and said, “I need a reason?”

“I guess not,” Blair replied and added, “we’ll meet you at the elevator at 1:00. How does that sound?”

They all continued to work at their desks, since it was a slow, slow day and then met at the elevator at 1:00. Jim had told Simon where they were all going. 

“I’ll drive,” Jim said as they stepped into the garage. 

Connor burst out laughing and said, “Like there was any room for doubt.”

They got into Jim’s SUV and took off for the diner down the street. It had fantastic food and they had decided on that. 

“So what’s up, Connor?” Blair asked. 

“Nothing. I mean, absolutely nothing. I just felt like hearing about the wedding that’s coming up. You haven’t talked about it in the last week so I wondered how things were going.”

Jim was the first to answer, “Everything is great, Connor. Her family hates me and Blair but Frances insists on having the wedding anyhow. Isn’t this going to be fun?” 

Connor burst out laughing and said, “There is never a dull moment with you two. I’m sure everything will work out fine. I really like Frances. She helped that young man that I had to arrest the other day who I felt so bad about. She got him placed in a terrific foster home and he’s doing really well, now.”

“What’s his name?” Blair asked. 

“Mitchell Librock. He’s only 12 years old, but has been in like ten foster homes. But he’s in a good one now and he’s doing great in school and at his home. It’s nice when something turns out well.”

They got out of the SUV when Jim parked and walked into the diner. 

“I’m really glad it worked out for Mitchell. It doesn’t always,” Blair said. 

They sat down, ordered, got their drinks and talked about the wedding and the upcoming house hunting. Jim was a little irritated that Blair had told her about the house hunting, but then realized, it wasn’t like it was a surprise or anything. 

By the time lunch was done, Jim was exhausted from listening to Blair and Connor yap on about anything and everything. The drive back to the station was much quieter. Connor and Blair both sensed that Jim had a headache. 

When they got back, Blair said, “Are you mad about me telling Connor about the house hunting?”

“No, I’m just tired. The two of you wear me out. I’m old,” Jim joked. 

Before long it was time for the old man and Blair to take off for the day. They both said goodbye to everyone, including Simon and left. They were off the next day and were going to find a house. Blair could just feel it in his bones. 

*

Saturday morning: 

Jim and Blair met Rita Murphy at her office and they drove in her car. Jim wasn’t happy about that, but he knew he had to put up with it for one day. He could make it one day without driving and being in charge, couldn’t he? 

They looked at one house after another until Jim saw one that looked promising. He glanced over at Blair and saw Blair’s eyes lighting up and knew this might be the house. It was a brick home, all on one floor, four bedrooms, three baths, a den, an office and a finished basement that had a pool table already in it. They looked through the house and Jim was in love. The floors were all wood and beautifully taken care of. Every room was really nice and large. It was a big house at 3000 square feet. Jim wasn’t sure what it would cost, but he was sure they couldn’t afford it. “Rita, how much is this one?”

“The family is going into default on the loan, so they only want what they owe. It’s less then you’re willing to spend. Here is the paperwork with the price and the info.”

She was right; it was lower than what they had planned on spending. Jim couldn’t believe his luck. Or their luck. “What do you think of this place, Blair?”

“I think we found our new home,” Blair answered. 

“We would like to put in an offer,” Jim said quickly. 

“But Jim, this is only the fifth house you’ve seen. Don’t you want to see if there is anything even better?” Rita asked. 

“I love the neighborhood, the schools rock here and Blair likes it. It’s perfect. We’ll offer what they are asking, so they’ll deal with us,” Jim said. 

Blair hugged him and said, “Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re going to own our own home. This is the happiest day of my life, besides meeting and falling in love with you.”

Jim leaned down and kissed him. He didn’t care if Rita was in the room or not. 

They drove down to the office and she put the offer in and told them to sit tight while they waited for an answer. “If they don’t get back to us in an hour, then it might take a day or so. But usually if you offer what they’re asking, they give you exactly what you want.”

Jim and Blair both had a cup of coffee and waited as patiently as they could. The phone rang and Rita answered it. Blair watched Jim’s face because he knew that Jim was listening in. When he saw the smile on Jim’s face, he knew they got it. Blair gave Jim a big hug and kissed him. 

Jim said, “We should probably let her tell us the news before we get all excited.”

“I told you those senses would come in handy some day,” Blair teased. 

Rita came out of her office and said, “They not only accepted, but they’ll close in two weeks and the house will be yours then. Congratulations, Jim and Blair. You’re now home owners. We need the inspection and a few other things, but I don’t foresee any problems.”

Rita told them what they had to do next, since this was all new to them and they got busy as soon as they got home. They were so excited that they kept hugging and kissing each other. 

Jim called his dad and Steven and told them the news. Blair would have called Naomi, but she was in India right then. 

“Jim, I loved the address, so much.”

Jim pulled the paper out again and looked and smiled. “Yes, I like it too.”

“Who would have thought we’d ever own a home on ‘Joshua Tree Lane’? It’s so perfect, man. I love it.”

They talked about all of the furniture they would have to buy and some of the excitement wore off a little bit. They weren’t expecting to buy so much furniture, but thus was life. 

The phone rang and Blair answered it, “Sandburg.”

“Hi Blair, this is William. I want you boys to know that I’ve already taken money out of savings and put it in a special account for your house. It’s for furniture. You’ll have enough to worry about with the house. It’s my gift to you boys. Just call it a wedding present, okay?”

“Thank you, William. We will accept it and love every bit of the furniture that it buys. Here is Jim.”

Jim grabbed the phone and said, “Thank you, dad. We were just saying how it was going to be tight getting all of the furniture that we need. We’ll buy all used, so it’ll make the money stretch further.”

“Jimmy, you will buy new. There is plenty of money in your account, so I don’t want to hear about it again. Now enjoy. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Thank you, dad. You’re the best,” Jim said before they hung up. 

“Wow, I can’t believe we’re getting a house and all of the furniture is going to be given to us by your dad. This has been a kick ass day, hasn’t it?” 

“It sure has. Now how would you like to celebrate upstairs, in our bed, naked and doing fun things to each other?” Jim asked. 

“Race ya!”

Jim let Blair win.

*

William sat down at the kitchen table with Sally and told her what was going on. He was so happy. His youngest son was going to be married soon, his oldest was already married and now everyone was going to have their own house. The wedding might have a problem or two, but they would all be able to handle it in the end. Yes, he had wonderful sons, but now he had an entire family, with Blair and Frances, too. William’s family made him very happy, indeed. 

The end


	3. The Weight of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William is still recovering from his heart surgery and getting to know his boys and their families. Little does he know how many changes that will involve.

Your name: Patt  
Title of work: The Weight of Love  
Type of work: Fiction  
Genre and rating: slash, mild angst Mature rating  
Beta: Kelly, Kerensa and Bluewolf.   
Warnings: Kid Fic  
Summary: William is still recovering from his heart surgery and getting to know his boys and their families. Little does he know how many changes that will involve.   
Author’s Notes: This is a sequel of sorts to William’s Boys and William’s Family. I had quite a few people write to me and ask for more. I want to thank my wonderful betas, Kelly, Kerensa and Bluewolf and a special thank you to Morgan for hosting the Big Bang every year. You’re all the best.   
Word Count: 21,987

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/weightoflovecover_zps22bb2201.jpg.html)

William Ellison glanced out his kitchen window and realized what a gift he had been given just six months previously. He had had a heart attack and ended up having triple bypass surgery. Even though his boys fought a lot of the time, they had come together at the hospital and become closer to each other and to William. Jimmy had found out that William had two enhanced senses and somehow took it in stride, with the help of Blair Sandburg. William had found out about Steven’s fiancée, Frances, and had fallen in love with her himself. He understood what Steven saw in her from the first day. The best part about his recovery was how close he had become to Blair. He knew all along about Jimmy and Blair, but was waiting for Jimmy to tell him. Jimmy never did, because he still acted like a young child around William some of the time. William decided, that morning, that he was going to call Jimmy, Jim from now on. Maybe he was treating him like a child all along. So, no more Jimmy. His son would be called Jim from this day forward. 

William was feeling quite well considering the surgery he had gone through. And with the help of Jim and Blair, he now had things to do during the week to keep him busy. He went on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to St. Patrick’s Church, where they had a senior meal site and activity center. From 9:00 until lunch he played poker and again after lunch until 2:00. He had made some very good friends by going here and would be forever grateful to everyone for helping him get jump started. On Tuesday and Thursday he went to the library by his house and read from 10:00 until 12:00 to pre-school children and sometimes kindergarteners. He enjoyed that the most. The children made him feel young again. 

Now, he was getting ready for the wedding of his youngest son. William felt bad that Jim and Blair would be robbed of a wedding ceremony and reception because they were a gay couple. If William had his way, he would be giving them a party anyway. However, Jim had asked him to just leave it alone. So, William kept the idea in the back of his mind, but didn’t say anything to either of the two men. 

Steven was marrying the nicest girl, named Frances Miller. She came from a very large family which had made for some problems of late. Steven asked Jim to be his best man and Blair to be his groomsman. They were both so honored, but Frances’s family had other ideas about who should be in it. Her oldest brother, Mike, decided to turn some of the family members against her because she asked a gay couple to be in the wedding. Frances had not backed down at all. She told them that they would have to decide to either go or not to go, but either way she was getting married and they would have to live with not being a part of it, if they refused to come. Well, three of them weren’t coming, including big mouthed brother Mike and Frances was hurt about it, but refused to give in to pitying herself. She and Steven were going to have a fantastic wedding whether her family was all there or not. William wished that they would all think about it some more and show up, but he didn’t have any right to say anything to them. He didn’t even do a good job with raising his own sons, let alone giving advice to someone else’s children. 

Everything was going to be great. Tonight, Jim and Blair were having them over for dinner at their new house. William was very excited to see the new place. Jim and Blair had bought a gorgeous one-story brick house that they talked about constantly. Jim wouldn’t let anyone come over until they were all done moving and settling in. William was so anxious to see the new place and so were Steven and Frances. He was happy to be a part of their lives and be included in family affairs. There was a time when William wouldn’t have been included. William was so glad that those days were behind him. William had made some good friends at the meal site, but still felt like he needed family even more. 

William washed his coffee cup out, took one last look at the backyard and decided that that day would be an excellent one for shopping for a perfect gift for Frances and Steven. He even thought he might give them a very generous Visa gift card that had enough money to buy all new furniture. He had done the same thing for Jim and Blair and decided maybe that would be his best route. 

He had to go read to the children at the library that morning and then he was meeting two men, Stanley and Thomas, for lunch. William was so glad to have made good friends. Stanley and Thomas were great to be around. Both of them were older than William, but had very young ideas. All in all, between his friends and his activities, he had more than enough to do. 

William got dressed, talked with Sally for a short time and then left the house at 9:30 so he had plenty of time to get to the library. Today was going to be another great day. William smiled all the way there.

~~~~~

“Are you as excited as I am to have people over for the first time, tonight?” Blair asked. 

“I’m super excited. Everyone is going to love the new furniture and the new house. It looks great. I’m glad that we have time to have everyone over before the wedding, because afterwards, they would be gone for the honeymoon and settling into their new lives,” Jim stated. 

“I forgot to mention that I invited Megan for dinner tonight also,” Blair said. 

“Why?” Jim wondered. 

“She’s like part of the family. She’s one of my best friends and I wanted her to see the house tonight along with everyone else. Is there a problem?” Blair asked. 

Jim pulled Blair in for a quick kiss and said, “No problem, just wondered. The more the merrier.”

Blair smiled. “Now that’s more like it.”

“Is there anything I can help with? The house looks terrific and it smells as good as it looks,” Jim asked. 

“Nope, everything is done. I just have to heat everything before they all get here. We’re all set,” Blair said happily. 

Jim looked over at Blair and asked, “Would you mind if I went to the station and got caught up on some paperwork?”

“Just a moment and I’ll go with you. We don’t have to be back until 6:00, so hang on,” Blair said as he hurried out of the kitchen and into their bedroom. Before long he was back and raring to go. 

Jim just smiled at his lover and partner. He had secretly hoped that Blair would come along, but didn’t want to bug him if he was busy. 

They were driving on the highway, when they saw the accident. Jim said, “Call it in for more back up. There are at least five cars involved.”

Blair called and reported it and stayed on the phone as they drove up and parked on the side of the road. A policeman walked up to Jim and said, “I’m sorry sir, but you can’t advance, there are several people hurt and we need to make room for the ambulances.”

Jim whipped his badge out and said, “I’m Detective Jim Ellison and this is my partner, Detective Blair Sandburg. What can we do to help?”

“The paramedics haven’t arrived yet and we have one man that is bleeding a lot and stuck in his car. Do either of you have any medical training?” Officer Dunlap asked. 

Blair answered and said, “Jim has medical training. Show him the way.”

“Okay, and Detective Sandburg if you could come with me and help with a pregnant woman, I would appreciate that,” Officer Dunlap said, hopefully. 

“Be careful, Jim.”

“You too, Blair,” Jim said as he headed in the direction of the vehicle that was smashed up the worst. There was a fire department worker trying to get the door open on the car and they were having a hard time. Jim listened and heard that the man in the car was hyperventilating, so he walked up and said, “I need to calm the victim down. Let me squeeze in here.”

No one knew what else to do, so they moved to one side and started work on the door again. Jim leaned down into the car and said, “My name is Jim, what is your name?”

“Mike…”

“Listen Mike, I know you’re scared, worried and just downright hurt, but you have to try and calm down a little bit. Can you take hold of my hand, so I can take your pulse?”

The man took hold of Jim’s hand, like it was a lifeline. Jim checked his pulse and found it not as bad as he had thought it would be. “Mike, your pulse is a little fast because you’re upset and hurt, but not too bad. I want you to take some deep breaths and try and relax a little,” Jim advised. 

Mike did as he was told, but still was holding on for dear life. 

Jim then said, “You’ve got a lot of blood on your face, let me wipe it off with my handkerchief. It’s clean, you don’t have to worry.” Jim then smiled to help make the scared man relax a little. It worked. He started breathing easier and calming down. 

“Mike can you tell me where you’re hurt other than the gash on your forehead?”

“I’m in a lot of pain in my back. I don’t know why. Are they going to be able to get me out of here in time?” Mike asked, still holding on to Jim’s hand. 

“Don’t you worry, these are some of the best firemen I know and they won’t let you stay in this car any longer then you have to. Are you having any pain in your arms and legs, Mike?”

“No, Jim. Just my back and my head. I’m getting a little dizzy, though, is that normal?” Mike asked worriedly. 

Jim looked over at the fireman and frowned. “Yes, Mike, you probably have a concussion. They’ll have you out of here soon enough.”

“Will you ride to the hospital with me?”

Jim looked at the poor man and felt sorry for anyone who was alone when something like this happened. 

“I’ll be glad to ride up to the hospital with you when the time comes. I hear the big guns coming now. It’s the Jaws of Life, so you’ll be out of there in moments,” Jim said.

“Do you promise that I’m not going to die?” Mike asked. 

Jim smiled and said, “I promise. Now relax, they’re opening the door now. When they bring you out, it’s going to hurt, so don’t tense up if you can help it. Take the easy little breaths like I just taught you and see if you can stay calm and not hurt yourself any further.”

“Thank you so much, Jim. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t have come into the picture,” Mike said gratefully. 

“It’s my job, Mike. Now, just relax, they’re going to pull you out now,” Jim said. 

Mike let out a loud moan when they began to move him. The fireman said, “Could you let his hand go so we can get him out easier?”

“Hey, he’s holding mine, I’m not holding his. He’s afraid to let go. Let’s try and work around this and get this show on the road. I hear the ambulance coming, so they’ll be able to transport him soon,” Jim explained. 

The fireman looked at Jim like he was nuts. “Detective, you couldn’t have heard anything over the motor running for the Jaws of Life.”

 

Jim just grinned at him as the ambulance drove up and came to a quick stop. Jim just smirked then. 

They got a back board and put Mike on it and with Jim still connected they started for the ambulance. “Mike, I need to tell my partner where I’m going to be. I’ll be right back,” Jim said as he patted Mike’s hand. 

“You promise?” Mike asked. 

“I promise, I’ll be right back,” Jim said as he ran for the red Mustang with the pregnant woman in it.

“Chief, I’m going to be riding to the hospital with Mike. Could you drive my truck to the station?”

“You okay, man?” Blair saw all of the blood on Jim’s clothing and started worrying right away. 

“I’m fine, here are the keys. I have to go,” Jim said as he rushed over to the back of the ambulance and got in. 

Mike smiled and said, “You’re back.”

Jim smiled and said, “I am.”

“They think I ruptured my spleen, is that something bad?” Mike asked. 

“It can be, but you’ll be at the hospital in a jiffy. Don’t worry so much. They’ll take good care of you at Cascade General.” Jim noticed that Mike had grabbed his hand again, which made Jim smile. 

The EMT’s were giving him pain medication according to what the doctor said and hoped Mike would calm down a little. His blood pressure was way too high. 

Mike was in a lot of pain, but Jim helped him work through some of it with breathing exercises. That also helped take his blood pressure down some. Everyone was wondering how he was doing it. Before long, they were at the emergency room and they were wheeling Mike into a room. The doctor told Jim, he had to let go of him, so they could work on him. Jim wondered if everyone was nuts. After all, Mike had Jim’s hand, not the other way around. Smiling at Mike he wished him well and left the room. 

Jim could hear them working on him and knew Mike would be fine. Jim went to the restroom and washed his hands and his arms that had been covered with blood. Then he pulled his cell out and called Henri Brown. 

“Brown…”

“Hi Henri, its Jim. Could you possibly send someone that isn’t busy to Cascade General to pick me up? I had to ride with a victim to the hospital and now I’m stranded.”

“Sure, I’ll come and pick you up. I’m not doing anything. Did you hear about your partner?”

Jim immediately panicked and asked, “What happened?”

“Calm down, dude. He delivered his first baby today. He’s pretty hyped up. He’s down in the shower right now. You’ll probably be back here before he’s back at his desk.”

“Thank you, H. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Jim said. 

Jim walked up to the front desk and asked the nurse on call if she could give him Mike’s last name for the reports he would no doubt have to fill out.

“Detective Ellison, it’s nice that you stayed with him. His name is Mike Miller and his family has been contacted. Would you like to wait and talk to them?” Melanie asked. 

Jim shook his head no and said, “My ride’s, here. I have to go. Talk to you later, Melanie. Thank you.” Jim rushed out to the parking lot to a waiting and grinning Henri Brown. 

Jim jumped into Henri’s truck and shut the door. “I could use a shower, H.”

“That you could, man.”

They both smiled as Henri drove off.

~~~~~

When Jim got to the station, he went right down for a shower and clean clothes. Blair was downstairs talking to Rafe when Jim walked in and got into the shower. 

“I’ll see you upstairs, partner,” Blair called out as he headed for the elevator. 

“I’ll fill you in when I get upstairs,” Jim called back. 

Blair wondered what he had to tell him that was so important, but didn’t really worry about it, because he was still on his freaking high from delivering a healthy baby girl. The mom was naming her Savannah Blair. Blair still couldn’t believe how awesome it was to bring a new life into the world. Even if he was just along for the ride.

~~~~~

When Jim got upstairs everyone was surrounding Blair’s desk, patting him on the back. Jim walked up and patted him, too. “Congratulations on the baby girl, Blair. I heard they named her after you.”

“Aw, thanks, Jim. Not really after me. Just the middle name. Her name is going to be Savannah Blair. Isn’t that a kick?” Blair asked bouncing in place. 

Jim pushed everyone aside and said, “I need to talk to my partner in private.”

“Interrogation room 2 is open, man. I’ll meet you in there,” Blair said, wiggling his eyebrows making everyone laugh. 

Jim looked very serious when he said, “Hurry up, I have something to tell you.”

Blair could tell, something was up. Suddenly, it wasn’t that funny anymore. He walked briskly into interrogation room 2 and closed the door. “Okay, man, you have my attention. What happened?”

“You know that guy from the accident that wouldn’t let go of my hand? I think he might be Frances Miller’s brother. I mean his name is Mike Miller and there are a ton of Mike Millers in town, I’m sure, but I have a feeling. What do we do with that?”

“Holy shit… I have no idea what we do with that. We can’t tell Frances, because that would just be wrong. I guess we just have to keep it to ourselves. It’s too bad, he’s such an ass. It was Mike, right?” Blair asked. 

“Yes, it was Mike. I was thinking about going up and introducing myself and not acting like I knew him, but it didn’t work out in my head,” Jim said, laughing. 

“You did a good thing, man, even if he doesn’t think so.”

“That’s just it, Chief; he does think I did a good thing. He was happy I was by his side. It would ruin the moment if he knew who I was, so we just keep it to ourselves. Okay?”

“Sounds good to me, Jim. Now, let’s get out there and get some paperwork done,” Blair said. 

Jim hugged him super fast and said, “I knew you would deliver that baby just dandy. You’re a good man and you did a good thing, too, Chief.”

Both men walked back to their desk and sat down to start paperwork. The only thing Jim was happy about was they didn’t witness the accident or anything like that, so they didn’t have to fill out any paperwork about that. Blair agreed with that except he had to fill out the form for delivering a new life into the world on the highway.

~~~~~

After six hours, they brought Mike Miller into his room on the surgical floor and the doctor asked who he was supposed to talk to. 

Mike’s mother said, “You can talk to me, he’s my son.”

“Hello, Mrs. Miller. My name is Doctor Matt Reid. We had to remove his spleen, which was ruptured in the accident. Due to the fast talking and actions from the detective at the scene your son is alive and well today. He was very lucky to have him keep him calm and help him get through the pain. Surgery went very well and Mike will be able to go home in three days.”

“Could we have the detective’s name, so we could send a basket of fruit or something?” Mrs. Miller asked. 

“I can tell your son, but not you. It’s up to him, if he wants to share it. Now, I suggest you all leave and let him get some rest. You can see him tonight and see how he’s doing then.”

They all hugged and kissed Mike and left the room. A very groggy Mike asked, “Could you write down his name and number for me, please?”

Doctor Reid smiled and wrote down Jim’s name and the station number on his business card. “Rest now and I’ll see you tonight before I go home.”

“Thanks, doc.”

As soon as the doctor walked out of the room, Mike looked at the card and sucked in a big breath. Jim Ellison? That’s who saved his life? Mike took the card and tore it up in little pieces and hoped he never had to tell anyone about it. 

Before long, he was sleeping and dreaming about the kind eyes that helped him get through the worst day of his life.

~~~~~

William, Steven and Frances all showed up at Jim and Blair’s house at 6:00 as planned. As soon as Jim let them in, all they could smell was the wonderful scent of dinner. 

“Oh my gosh, what are we having?” Frances asked. 

“Hawaiian baked ham and all the trimmings. Blair worked really hard on it and he was nervous,” Jim said. 

“I’m sure it’s great,” William said. “I see that Megan Connor is here, too.”

“Yes, Blair invited her, I hope you all don’t mind,” Jim said. 

“Everyone likes Megan,” William said, smiling. 

“Let’s see this house, big brother,” Steven said, pounding Jim on the back as he said it. 

Jim took them all for a guided tour and everyone fell in love with the house.

~~~~~

“Okay, we have wine, beer and other drinks, but I have to take your car keys away if you’re going to drink any of them. We have four bedrooms, so you can stay over. They were all furnished as you could see. Now, let’s go see the kitchen and see what Blair is up to.”

They all walked into the huge kitchen, and everyone embraced Blair, talking and smiling at the same time. Blair was a little overwhelmed and Jim could tell by his heartbeat. 

“Everyone, let’s go in the dining room and sit down and I can get the drinks for everyone. Blair has to finish dinner with Megan.”

They all walked into the dining room and Jim took orders for drinks. “Wow, I actually feel like a bartender.”

Frances laughed and said, “If you’re a good boy, you might get a huge tip.”

It was a very good ice breaker. Even Steven laughed hard at that one. Jim asked everyone what they would like to drink and he asked Frances and she said, “Oh, I have to drive, because my brother was in a terrible accident today, so I have to go and see him tonight. I hope you won’t all think us rude for leaving right after dinner.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, Frances. Give him our best.” Jim walked into the kitchen and got everyone’s drinks and brought out a tray filled with wine, beer and sodas. When he walked through the kitchen door carrying it, Steven said, “Jim, I think you missed your calling. You’re handling that tray like a pro.”

Again, everyone laughed. “Yeah, well, Blair made me practice before you got here. He’s a slave driver,” Jim kidded. 

Jim handed everyone their drinks and took the tray back into the kitchen. Blair smiled at him and said, “It’s time to serve dinner.” 

So Megan, Blair and Jim all took out numerous things and set them all on the table. Things were going smoothly. As they all ate dinner Megan told everyone about Blair delivering a baby and having the baby named after him. They all began to ask questions and Jim just smiled and nodded his head when asked a question. The evening was going well. Finally Jim said, “Blair, Steven and Frances have to leave early because her brother was in a terrible accident and she wants to go see him tonight after we eat. So we’ll save them some dessert, how does that sound?”

Frances smiled and said, “You two are the best friends a gal could have. I know why Megan is always over here. You’re great. Thank you for this wonderful dinner.”

Steven wasn’t going to be outdone by his wife, so he said, “We love the house, and the kitchen is perfect if you can make meals like this in it. Dinner was delicious and I would gladly have dessert later on.”

Jim smiled at all of them and said, “Dad, I’ll take you home once you’re ready to go.”

“I was thinking about having a little more wine and staying the night,” William said. 

“That works too,” Jim answered. 

Megan smiled and said, “Well, damn it, I’m going to have some more wine and stay in another room. I can borrow a tee shirt to sleep in, can’t I, Jimbo?”

“Hey, you’ve gone all night long without calling me Jimbo. If you want something to sleep in, you had better be nice,” Jim teased. 

“Okay, Jim. I love this house. It’s so spectacular. It has everything you’ll need,” Megan replied. 

Blair said, “Frances, when you have time after your honeymoon, we would like to find out what we have to do to become foster parents.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re kidding. Already? This is so perfect. I see some fantastic children come through the system that need a good home. I’ll start the paperwork for you tomorrow and we can get the ball rolling before we leave. I’m so thrilled for you. I understand why the house is so big. You wanted a family.” Frances went over to Jim and hugged him and then hugged Blair. 

“We’d better go, Frances,” Steven reminded her. 

“I’ll see you sometime tomorrow with paperwork, names, numbers and a few other things you’ll need to become foster parents. I’m so darn excited,” Frances said as they got ready to go. 

Frances hugged everyone goodbye and then they walked out the door to head to the hospital.

“Dinner was terrific,” William said, happily. 

“Thank you, William, it was my pleasure. I love to cook. Actually, so does Jim. This kitchen is perfect for both of us,” Blair said. 

Megan said, “I’ll help with dishes, why don’t you and your dad go relax, Jim?”

“That would be really nice. More wine, dad?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t mind another glass of wine. Thank you. Let’s go and sit down in that nice den you have. Maybe we could catch the evening news,” William suggested. 

As soon as they settled in the den, Jim turned on the tv and a camera was on Jim helping the guy in the ambulance. William was so damn proud of his son, but then he saw the frown on Jim’s face and asked, “What’s bothering you, son?”

“Dad, I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone. I mean, it must never get to Frances,” Jim said cautiously. 

“Tell me. It can’t be that bad.”

Jim told him all about helping the man and the man holding Jim’s hand the entire time and asking Jim to go in the ambulance with him. William waited for something bad to have happened and then Jim told him. “It was Mike Miller, dad. Frances must never know that I was the cop that helped her brother.”

“My God, it’s a small world. I can’t believe he didn’t say something to you when you were holding his hand,” William pointed out. 

“First of all, he was holding mine. Secondly, he’s never met me and I’ve never met him. He doesn’t know it was me. He’ll never know who did it and that’s the way I want it.”

“But Jim, this might help with the wedding ordeal,” William stated. 

“I don’t want him to go to the wedding just because he thinks he owes me something. I was doing my job, dad. Nothing more, nothing less. I just want to forget all about it,” Jim said. 

They started watching the news because William now knew when to argue with Jim and tonight wasn’t the night. 

At about ten o’clock, Jim took William to one of the spare rooms and gave him a toothbrush and toothpaste and hugged him goodnight. Blair and Megan were still in the kitchen doing dishes. 

Jim went into the kitchen and Blair was finishing up with loading the dishwasher. “I just came in to see if I could help,” Jim joked. 

“Very funny. We worked really hard. I think we both deserve a big glass of wine for that,” Blair said. 

Blair looked into the living room and asked, “Where is William?”

“He’s getting ready for bed,” Jim answered. 

“I think I want to go to bed too,” Blair said, very seriously. 

Megan jumped up and said, “I’m tired too. We all have to work in the morning, so that’ll work out well. See you in the morning, Jim and Blair. Sleep well. Thank you for everything tonight.”

Blair showed Megan to another spare room, handed her a tee shirt and they all wished each other well and went to bed. 

Once in their bedroom, Blair said, “I told Megan about Mike.”

Jim said, “I know, I heard you. It’s okay, she won’t tell anyone that shouldn’t know.”

“If we’re really quiet, will you make love to me?” Blair asked sweetly. 

Jim locked their door and started to strip Blair and before long they were both into it big time and Jim made slow passionate love to his mate. They made no noise, so they wouldn’t embarrass either William or Megan. Once they were done, Jim cleaned them up and pulled Blair into his arms for the night. 

“Jim, are you sure you want to take the big step with foster kids?”

“Yeah, I want to do it more than you can imagine. In fact, I’d really like to adopt instead of foster, but we have to start somewhere, right?” Jim asked. 

“It’s only four days until the wedding and Frances is taking time out to do this for us. She’s one in a million. We couldn’t ask for a better sister-in-law. Don’t you agree?” 

Jim smiled and nodded. He turned the light off on the nightstand and said, “Let’s get some sleep. I love you, Blair.”

“I love you, Jim.”

Jim listened to all of the sounds in the house and liked the sound of friends and family in their home. The sound of all of their heartbeats lulled Jim to sleep within moments.

~~~~~

The following day, after William left, Jim and Blair went to work. When they got there Frances was there already with papers. 

“Could we talk somewhere in private?”

Jim led the way to one of the interrogation rooms and shut the door. “Is there a problem, Frances?”

“No, I talked to my boss and said that we can get you on the fast track of getting approved because you both have such good backgrounds. He wants your papers filled out as soon as possible, because we have about eleven children that are in need of a place to live. So, the sooner we get everything done, the sooner you can get approved. Here are the forms for all of your co-workers and your boss. Try to get them to my office by 3:00 today. Mr. Lipton wants this all taken care of by then. You need to fill out these forms and your dad needs to fill one out. I already filled out the ones for Steven and myself. Maybe you could ask Captain Banks if you could take off part of the day to get this all finished. Mr. Lipton thinks that if we get all these papers in, he can have you approved for a home inspection in two days. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” 

“Frances, I can’t believe you found time to work our lives into yours with your wedding coming up. Thank you so much,” Blair said as he hugged her close. 

“It’s my pleasure. Now get busy and get these all in to me by 3:00. See you later,” Frances said with a huge smile. 

Jim walked her to the elevator and then they handed out the forms for everyone to fill out and started filling out there’s too. 

At noon, they took off for the day having collected everyone’s papers and dropping the ones off at William’s that he needed to fill out. Blair helped him do it, because he seemed unsure of himself. Once they had his in hand, they took everything to Frances by 1:00. Jim was impressed at how fast they got it done. They were ready for a home inspection and any other type of inspection that came up. Then all they had to worry about was the personal interview and Jim wasn’t sure if they did Psychology reports or not. They couldn’t get appointments for those interviews until after they inspected the house.

~~~~~

Two days later, Mr. Lipton called Jim at home and asked if they could come for a home inspection. Then they were going to interview everyone that filled out paperwork. They would then set up the appointments for Jim and Blair’s interview. Jim got excited realizing they were on the road to becoming foster parents. 

Blair was over at Steven’s house, seeing if he could help with anything for the wedding. He left Jim to deal with the home inspection. He knew that Frances was ready to have a nervous breakdown, but that was only the half of it. She came rushing out of the bedroom she shared with Steven and said, “You won’t believe who just called.”

“Who?” Steven asked. 

“Mike. He wanted to tell me that everyone is going to be at the wedding and he hopes we’ll be able to get past all of this ugliness. Do you believe it?” Frances was on the verge of tears. 

“I take it he’s out of the hospital?” Blair asked. 

“Yes, he got out last night and he said he did a lot of soul searching while he was in there and decided I was more important than anything. I’m so happy, I can’t believe it.”

“I think someone said that already,” Steven teased. 

“Steven, cut me a little slack. I never dreamed they would change their minds. I’m so happy. Now, I need you to leave for the day and I want to show Blair my dress and everything and get his opinion.”

Steven smiled at his excited wife-to-be and kissed her on the top of the head. “I’ll go sit with Jim while he waits for the inspection. Call me there.”

“Thank you, honey.”

As soon as he drove off, she said, “Swear you won’t tell anyone?”

“I swear. Now tell me,” Blair ordered. 

“I’m 8 weeks pregnant, maybe a little more.”

“Oh my God, you’re pregnant?” I don’t believe it. This is wonderful news,” Blair said. 

“Yes and I’ve gained a little weight, so I need to know if it really looks bad with this dress or not. I need the truth, okay?”

“You got it.” Blair hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Blair sat down and waited for Frances to come out and model the dress. The dress did look differently when she walked out of her room. She now filled out the bust line and her waist was a little thicker. Even with that, she looked beautiful in the dress. 

“It’s perfect, Frances. I’m serious, you look utterly gorgeous. Aren’t you going to tell Steven, now?”

“I’m telling him at dinner tonight. But we’ll save the big news for everyone else for next month. But you can tell Jim. He should be able to know about it too. Thank God the wedding is soon, because I wouldn’t be able to fit into it in two or three weeks.”

Blair laughed as Frances went to take off the gown. When she came back out, she said, “Can we talk wedding for a little while? I have some simple questions you might be able to help me with.”

“Sure, you know you can ask me anything, any time. Now what’s up?”

“I have to add the extra members of my family to the table setting and I was wondering how you felt about my brother Mike sitting at your table. I think it would do him good,” Frances suggested. 

“Is Jim sitting by me?”

“Yes, he’s next to you. I didn’t want to separate you,” Frances answered. 

“Why are you putting Mike by us?” Blair really wanted to know. 

“I think that it would do him good to sit by you and get to know both of you for the evening. He’s really a nice guy once you get past the rough exterior.”

“So, he’s a little like Jim?” Blair asked. 

“Let me rephrase that. If you look deep enough, you might find someone you could be friends with. He’s nothing like Jim. I don’t love him as much as I do Jim.”

Blair looked at Frances and smiled. “That’s one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard said about him. Thank you.”

“I feel the same way about you. Now let’s find good places for the others to sit,” Frances said as she got the place setting book. 

They laughed and talked as they figured out all they needed to do. Blair loved Frances as much as he would have loved a sister.

~~~~~

Jim and Steven were waiting for the inspection, and Steven could tell that Jim was nervous. 

“Jim, have you noticed that dad has begun calling you, Jim?”

“Yes, he told me in confidence that he thought he made me feel like I was a child sometimes and that’s why he called me Jimmy. To tell you the truth, I’m thrilled. I hate being called Jimmy. It’s bad enough I have to put up with Megan calling me Jimbo. But Jimmy was worse. Are you trying to get me thinking about other things, so I won’t be as nervous about the inspection?” Jim asked. 

“I was trying, but I guess I failed,” Steven said, laughing. 

The doorbell rang and Jim jumped up to answer it. Steven caught up to him and said, “Don’t be so nervous, Jim. These things happen all the time and this house is great.”

“Thanks, Steven.” Jim opened up the front door and said hello to the two inspectors. 

The man introduced himself as Daniel Fry and his partner as Nicole Davis. 

Jim shook both of their hands and said, “This is my brother Steven Ellison, he’s here to give me moral support.”

Daniel and Nicole shook hands with Steven next. 

Daniel said, “May we get the inspection started?”

“Sure,” Jim replied, “we’ll sit in the living room and wait for you to get done.”

“That would be perfect, Jim,” Nicole said. 

They walked off with their laptop and notepads and started in the kitchen. 

Steven whispered, “Do you hear them in any of the rooms?”

Jim smiled. “I hear them in all of the rooms. So far, they haven’t said anything bad, but I don’t know what their idea of great is either. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Two hours later, Jim and Steven stood up when they entered the living room. Nicole smiled and said, “No need to look so nervous, Jim. Everything looks fine. We just have to discuss our findings with our boss, get the report typed up and send it in for approval. Relax, the tough part is over.”

“Thank you so much,” Jim said as he walked them to the front door. “I hope to hear from you soon.”

“It takes a while, Jim, so relax and don’t worry about it,” Daniel said. 

Jim closed the door after they walked out and just stood there looking lost. 

“What’s wrong, Jim?” Steven asked. 

“I think Daniel is not on our side. I think Nicole was, but not Daniel. This might not turn out as well as we wanted it to,” Jim explained. 

“You’re jumping to conclusions, Jim. Knock it off. How about dinner with our wives?” Steven teased. 

Jim let out a bark of laughter and said, “Good idea, little brother. We better call them and tell them we’re on the way.”

After calling Blair, Jim locked up the house and both men drove over to Steven’s house.

~~~~~

When they arrived at Steven’s, Blair and Frances were making a nice dinner. 

Jim came in and kissed Blair softly and Steven did the same with Frances. 

Blair beamed with happiness. “We were so busy talking we didn’t even hear you.”

“Did you get all of your work done, Frances?” Steven asked. 

“Yes, Blair helped me do it all. Now tell us, how did the inspection go?” Frances asked, sweetly. 

Jim looked across the room and saw the dirty look Steven was giving him, so he answered, “Everything went fine. They’ll call us with the results.”

“It went that badly?” Blair asked, looking scared. 

“How did you know that?” Steven wondered aloud. 

“I know Jim better than anyone else and I can tell when he’s upset. Now tell me what happened,” Blair said.

“The girl’s name was Nicole and she was totally on board, I could tell by the way she talked and smiled. But Daniel wasn’t. I think he didn’t believe it was a good idea for us to be foster parents. Steven told me I was overreacting, but I felt like I was right.”

“We gave it a shot, Jim. That’s all we could do. Now we wait for the answer and move from there,” Blair said, trying to smile. 

Jim moved towards him and pulled him into his arms and held on for dear life. “We gave it a hell of a shot, Chief. No matter what, we’re going to have each other forever.”

Frances started to cry and left the room. Steven followed close behind her, wanting to check on his almost wife. 

“Why was Frances crying?” Jim asked. 

“It’s up to her to tell you, not me,” Blair replied. 

“You mean, she actually told you she was pregnant? It’s about time. I’ve had a hard time keeping this news all to myself.”

“You knew?” Blair asked. 

“She smells different and the weight she’s gained was another clue and then I could hear a little heartbeat,” Jim said, very happily. 

“That is so cool, Jim. Don’t say anything until she tells Steven,” Blair said as Steven walked into the room wearing a huge smile. 

“We’re pregnant!”

Jim went over to his brother and hugged the stuffing out of him. “Congratulations, Steven.”

Blair then hugged him and said, “This is the best news we’ve heard in a long while. I think you need to tell your dad, though. He could use the good news.”

“I’ll call him and tell him now,” Steven said as he picked up the phone. Frances walked in and grabbed the phone. “I’ll ask him over for dinner and we’ll tell him while he’s here.”

The men all smiled at how easily she gained control of the situation. She was one tough cookie. 

Frances called and asked William over for dinner and told him to come then and hung up the phone when she was done talking. “And that’s how we will tell our father and father-in-law he’s going to be a grand-father.”

~~~~~

William smiled as he got ready to go over to Steven’s house. He wondered if Frances and Steven were finally going to tell him the big news. He never would have said anything, but he could hear an extra heartbeat about two weeks ago and he noticed that Frances had gained a little bit of weight. These senses had always been a little bit of a pain, but since Blair had taught him some control issues, he was doing better. He knew that Frances was farther along then she thought because of the heartbeat. 

William locked up the house as he left and felt like a million bucks for the drive over to their house.

~~~~~

When William arrived he smiled at Jim and Jim knew that his father already knew. This meant something special to Jim. He finally shared something with his father. They could both hear things and not say a word about it. 

They all sat down and Steven said, “How do you feel about becoming a grand-father?”

William was up so quickly that it surprised everyone. He hugged Frances and told her how much he loved her. Then he hugged Steven and told him the same. Then while he was at it, he hugged the two uncles-to-be. 

Frances said, “You’re taking this rather well. I’m so glad.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve wanted a grandchild for a long while. And God knows that Jim and Blair are dying to become uncles.”

Blair smiled. “We sure are. We can’t be happier.”

“Is anyone ready to eat? Dinner is done and remember, I’m eating for two,” Frances said, laughing. 

They all sat down and the table and started dishing up their food. Everything looked good and tasted even better. 

“So, are you excited for the honeymoon?” Blair asked. 

“We’re counting the days. There are two,” Steven said. 

“I can’t believe that in two days we’re going to have another member of the family,” Jim said. 

William felt like a million bucks. Not only did he survive the surgery, but he was spending time with his family right and left and now he was getting a grand-child. He couldn’t wait to tell his new friends at the meal site. 

“I’m thrilled to be part of this family. At first, I thought some of mine weren’t coming to the wedding and it ruined it for me. Honestly, I was depressed, but now I feel like a new person,” Frances stated. 

Steven looked troubled. “Frances, you didn’t tell me you were depressed.”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone, but I feel much better now. I needed my family to get their heads on straight. Thank you all for putting up with me,” Frances said. 

William snickered and said, “Families are a pain in the butt, Frances. I’m sure you’ll find that out about us too.”

They all helped clean up after dinner and then William left first. As Steven walked him to the door he asked, “Are you all right, Dad?”

“Yes, I’m just tired. I need my beauty sleep,” William kidded and started out the door. 

“Thanks for coming, Dad. Frances is wild about you.”

“And I am about her, too. In two days you’re going to have a wonderful wedding and nothing will make it go wrong.”

“Thanks. See you in two days, Dad,” Steven said as he watched his dad go to the car and leave. 

Frances asked, “Was he tired?”

“Yes, that’s what he said,” Steven answered. 

Blair asked, “Not to change the subject, but where are you going again for your honeymoon?”

“An 11 day cruise to the Mexican Rivera. We can’t wait to go,” Frances replied. 

“We went on one for 11 days, too. The food was pretty awesome and we had a good time at the ports of call. You’re going to have a blast. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I need to get home and go to sleep. We’ll see you both in two days,” Jim said. 

Frances hugged them both and walked them to the door. “Drive carefully and sleep well.”

Blair got into Jim’s SUV and they started for the house. “So do you want to talk about the inspection?”

“No, not really. If it goes through, it goes through. If it doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be. Either way, we’re both happy the way things are right now, right?” Jim asked. 

“Oh yeah, I’m happier then I’ve been in years. I really love Frances. She has become a very good friend to Megan and me. We do things together that you might not be that crazy about doing.”

“Chief, I would do anything for you.”

“You are going to get so lucky when we get home,” Blair answered. Jim always knew exactly what to say and when. 

“Rain check. I really am tired, babe.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that. Guess who is going to be sitting at our table at the wedding reception?” Blair asked. 

“Who?”

“Mike Miller. How do you feel about that?” 

“Well, he’s coming to the wedding. He’s decided that we weren’t as awful as he thought and came to his senses. I’m glad he’ll be sitting there. He was a nice guy,” Jim admitted. 

“You’re a nice guy, Jim. You have really come to terms with this haven’t you?”

“Blair, I needed to, because it’s for Frances, not for us. I wanted her to be happy and I’m glad it’s working out. It’s going to be a beautiful wedding. Think how lucky this child they’re having will be to have all of the aunts and uncles from her side of the family.”

“And our side of the family, too. This baby is going to be super special,” Blair said. 

“Tomorrow is going to be a busy day at work, trying to catch up so we’ll be off for the wedding. I almost forgot about the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night. That’ll be nice too,” Jim said. 

As they pulled into the driveway and then into the garage, Blair said,” I’m so damned happy, Jim.”

Jim leaned over and kissed his mate and said, “So am I.”

They walked into the house together and got ready for bed. Both of them were tired, so it was a good night for just cuddling and going to sleep.

~~~~~

“Ellison and Connor!” Simon barked out his office door. 

They both stood up and walked over to him and Jim said, “You called?”

“I need the two of you to look into a rape that happened last night. She won’t talk to anyone, so I’m hoping that Connor can help her open up. This is the fourth one in a month. This guy is getting more dangerous every time. She’s at the hospital. This guy did a really bad number on her. Are you two up for it?” Simon asked. 

“Yes, I am,” Connor replied. 

“I hate dealing with rape victims because they usually don’t open up to men,” Jim said. 

“So just go along with me and let me know if you hear anything out of the ordinary that could help me get somewhere with her. We can do it, Jim,” Megan assured him. 

“Megan, I’m glad you’re so sure of it, because I think is going to be a really long day and night. Simon, I have to remember the rehearsal dinner is tonight.”

“You’ll be done by then. You can pick it up the day after the wedding, also. Both of you try your best and good luck,” Simon stated as he walked them to the elevator. 

Jim gave a thumbs up sign to Blair as he left and Blair wondered what they were up to, but knew it wasn’t his place to ask. He would find out about it later that day, anyhow.

~~~~~

Jim and Megan arrived at the hospital and went to the room she was in. When they walked in, they were somewhat shocked by what they saw. This woman’s face was beaten so badly you couldn’t even tell what she really looked like. Her eyes were swollen shut, giving her an even sadder appearance. 

Megan walked into the room very quietly and said, “Linda, my name is Megan Connor. I’m an Inspector for the Cascade Police Department. I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

A tear slid out of the woman’s right swollen eye and she said, “I can’t help you.”

“Linda, he is getting worse every time he hurts a woman. The next one might not live,” Megan said softly. 

“She might be better off. This man hates women so badly that he beats us until we can’t even see him anymore. Not that I want to, anyhow, but he is a very sick individual and he threatened me.”

Megan got a little closer and said, “He told you not to go to the police?”

“Yes,” Linda answered quietly. 

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Megan asked, next. 

“I’ll never forget what he looks like. But I have to have protection if you expect me to help you. Who will protect me?”

Jim spoke very softly. “My name is Detective Jim Ellison and we have many caring police officers that would be in charge of staying by your side until we find this man. My partner, Detective Blair Sandburg and I will be here for you as of Sunday. In the meantime, I will get the other officers ready for their duty to watch out for you. How does that sound?”

“I’m afraid to sleep, because he said he would be back,” Linda said, sadly. 

“We’ll be here, Linda. Now could you give us a description so we can begin looking for the man? And once you can see again, you can tell a sketch artist what he looks like and we’ll have something more to go on,” Megan said. 

Linda began to give them the description and what the monster did to her. Jim was actually sick to his stomach, and he imagined Megan was too. Before long, they had a good description, knew where he picked her up and a few other things to go on. 

Megan said, “Jim, why don’t you call the station and ask Rafe and Brown if they can come up to the hospital and take the first shift. We’ll ask Joel and Bishop to take the next shift. Linda, you will be with someone all the time. Try and relax, I know that’s a silly thing to say to someone that has been through what you have, but you’re going to have to trust us. Your life is in our hands now.”

Jim walked out to the hallway and got the schedule worked out with Simon. Even Simon was going to take a shift. That’s how badly they wanted this man caught and punished. 

Jim walked back in the room and said, “They’ll be here in an hour. So, we’ll just hang out here and keep Linda company.”

Megan spoke in a soft tone and discussed different types of therapy that Linda could go for while she was in the hospital. Jim realized he didn’t know any of that. They needed to have classes in how to deal with rape victims. Jim, himself, knew that she was frightened of him and he was of her. That’s not a good combination. 

Megan ended up calling the nurse in and telling her what Linda needed for the next week. The nurse said they would set everything up right away.

When Rafe and Brown got there, Megan introduced Linda to them and Jim and Megan left for the day. 

Once in the SUV, Megan said, “I’m sick to my stomach.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Well, at least she’ll be safe for the time being. God, I hope we can find this monster,” Megan said. 

“We will, don’t worry about that. We won’t give up until we’ve got him behind bars. I think the FBI should be called in on it. This man is a pure animal and we need some help,” Jim confessed. 

“I can’t believe you just said you think we should call in the FBI. I think I might agree with you. Maybe we could talk to Simon when we get to the station,” Megan replied. 

The drive to the station was pretty quiet, each of them having their own thoughts about the victim. 

At the station, Jim parked and they got out and started upstairs. 

“The big dinner is tonight, am I right?” Megan asked as they climbed the stairs slowly. 

“Yes, and I’m ‘so’ not in the mood for it. Our job sucks sometimes,” Jim admitted. 

“Everything will go fine. Don’t you worry about it. Once you leave and get dressed up to go out tonight, you will forget the ugliness and know only good things for a short time,” Megan said. 

“You’re right, of course. This is their big day. I don’t want to ruin it. So, I’d better get with the program.”

They both walked through the staircase door of the bullpen and were greeted by everyone there, including Blair. 

Jim could see the concern in Blair’s eyes and wished he could hug him and tell him not to worry, but this was work and that wouldn’t fly. 

He sat down at his desk and Blair asked, “How are you?”

“I’m good. We have to leave pretty soon to get ready for the dinner tonight. Did you remember?”

“Of course I remembered. I can’t wait to go for the dry run,” Blair kidded. 

Jim gave him a high five and began to work on his report to take into Simon’s office. He also got out a sheet to fill out to ask the FBI to step in. Blair looked over and said, “You’re asking the FBI to step in?”

“Blair, this man is a monster. Wait until you meet this young girl. He destroyed her in two horrible hours. She can’t see because he beat her so badly. So she can’t do a face with a sketch artist until she gets better. No one knows how soon that will be. We can watch out for her, but I think the FBI would have a safe house that would be more comfortable than the hospital. She’s so broken, Blair.”

“She’s not broken, Jim. She just needs some help. We’ll see that she gets the right help, too. What department are you asking for with the FBI?”

“I was thinking the Special Victims Unit with the FBI. I mean, we have one here, but I think it’s more like a serial rapist now and it should be treated as such. What do you think?”

“I think you’re right. Fill out all the paperwork and we’ll hand it to him as we leave,” Blair suggested. 

Jim got up when he was done and went and got Megan Connor. They knew they should do it together. 

Jim tapped on Simon’s office door and Simon looked up and smiled as he said, “Come in.”

“Here are the reports. And I have a request for a Special Victim’s Unit in the FBI to be called immediately. I feel horrible about leaving for the next two days, but this needs to be taken care of and soon. Megan can help get Linda used to the FBI coming in. She worked well with Linda. Here are all of the forms filled out and I need to leave right now to make it to the dinner,” Jim said, trying to rush. 

“Get out of here. Thanks for filling out all the forms. We’ll take it from here. Enjoy the wedding,” Simon ordered as he pushed Jim out of his office. 

Jim grabbed Blair and they left in a hurry, so they could change before dinner.

~~~~~

Once Jim and Blair arrived at the church, they saw the look of relief on both Steven’s and Frances’s faces. They had probably wondered if they were coming at all. 

Jim and Blair shook hands with everyone there and they went and stood where they were supposed to, to rehearse the big affair. Once everyone had it down correctly, they all left to meet at the restaurant of Frances’s choice. Jim and Blair were thrilled because it was Claim Jumper and they loved it there.

The boys had been a little nervous about meeting all of the people in her family, but it went well. Jim shook hands with Mike, as if he had never met him before. Jim figured if he wanted to tell Frances, he could tell her. 

The evening went well and Jim could see how excited Steven and Frances were about the next day. William was giving them little pep talks about how stressful a wedding can be, but Jim realized that Frances was really getting into all of this. She acted like she was truly enjoying it. 

They said their goodbyes and left to go home and rest for the big day. Blair talked Jim’s leg off the entire way home and for a change, Jim was glad of it.

~~~~~

The big afternoon, turned out to be a gorgeous day. The weather was sunny, warm and no wind. Jim and Blair arrived to help Steven keep from having a nervous breakdown. William arrived to help them handle Steven. Between all of them, they were doing pretty well. 

The church started filling up and Steven finally started calming down. William went and sat in the first row of pews with Frances’s family. He had gotten pretty close with some of them, and he enjoyed their company. 

It was finally time and the men were standing in front of the altar when the wedding march started playing. The Maid of Honor was first and then the Bridesmaid was next, followed by a beautiful Frances walking down the aisle with her dad. The dress was perfect and the veil was absolutely stunning. Jim looked over at Steven and could see the tears in his eyes. Then he glanced at Blair and saw them in his eyes too. Jim knew he was going to have to be the strong one. 

Once Frances arrived at the altar, the priest took over and it went fairly quickly. Everything was going smoothly. When the priest said, “You may now kiss the bride.” Blair was close to tears. 

It had been a perfect wedding. Everyone was there that was supposed to be and nothing had happened to throw a wrench into the works. As Steven and Frances walked out of the church, everyone else followed. 

“Jim, I think the reception is right downstairs,” Blair said. 

“Yes, it is. Let’s get dad and go have a reception,” Jim said, smiling. 

When they walked in, they found the table that they were sitting at. William was seated with Frances’s parents, but Jim and Blair were four tables from there. Jim saw Mike sitting there and he and Blair sat down across from him. 

“It’s really nice that you didn’t mention to anyone about us meeting before,” Mike said softly. 

“Not my place. If you wanted Frances to know, you would have told her,” Jim answered. 

Other people started to sit at the table so no more was said about that. They were all asking questions about Jim and Blair and Blair was answering everything he could. All was going well. Mike noticed that everyone seemed to accept Jim and Blair as a couple and they even liked them. Blair was telling some wild stories that even made Mike laugh and it turned out to be an excellent table to be sitting at. Dinner was served and it was quite a nice setup. The food was delicious and Jim was quite impressed. Then he found out that Frances’s sister owned the catering service. Jim was going to have to remember that. The food was great. 

After everyone finished eating and the plates were cleared, they asked if the Best Man had anything to say. Jim was very nervous about giving a speech, because he wasn’t a speech sort of guy. But he was going to give it a try, anyhow. 

Jim stood up and walked to where Frances and Steven were sitting, next to the cake and began his speech.

“Good evening everyone. First of all it is my honor to thank all of you for becoming a part of Steven and Frances’s wedding celebration. For my part, I want you to know that Steven whined to our father until dad finally forced me to write this speech and recite it today. Then I want you all to notice, how close he is to the cake. He was always trying to get all of the dessert.”

There were a few laughs and that was enough to get Jim to go on. 

“I know that a lot of you travelled from all different places just to come here. So we thank you for such a tribute. Steven and Frances will truly make a fantastic couple and I’m happy that things have been well for them so far. On a different note, because of this wedding I’ve met a lot of Frances’s relatives for the first time. Regardless of what she’s been saying, I think you’re all great.”

This made a lot of the family laugh. Jim was feeling surer of himself. 

“Actually, as I was trying to figure out what to say, Steven mentioned clearly that I should steer away from embarrassing him. So, before I begin with telling you the stories, I shall share to you some smaller things about Steven: he was born, he went to school, he got a job, and now he just got married. Enough said! Now, on to the good stuff! Let me tell you about Frances…”

This made even Steven laugh. And Frances was very moved. 

“Frances, you look sensational today and are such a beautiful, caring, loving person. Your delightful personality, glorious smile, generous nature and caring warmth are just some of the many reasons why Steven should consider himself the luckiest man in the world.”

Frances’ mother was wiping her eyes. 

“Here’s to the bride – may she share everything with her husband…and that includes the housework. Here’s to the groom, a man who kept his head even while he lost his heart.”

Steven groaned at this one. 

“May your love grow larger, may nothing ever take it away, may your household multiply, and may your hearts never be divided!”

This time, Jim noticed that Frances’s dad was wiping his eyes. 

“I feel honored that I was asked to stand up for Steven and Frances on their special day. Thank you for picking a wonderful wife who has made our lives more complete. Thank you also for being a good man to Frances, so that her life is filled with love and joy.” 

This time, both Steven and Frances looked like they were going to cry. 

“Here is to the best life you could possibly have and know that all of us are here for you anytime at all. You make a perfect couple and this makes us all very happy.” 

Everyone could tell Jim was winding down. 

“Congratulations, Frances and Steven. May the world treat you well and may you have great dreams. Now, eat the cake and get busy getting to the airport for the honeymoon. “ 

The hall erupted in applause. Jim wasn’t expecting that and this moved him. He was so glad the toast had gone well. Here he had fretted about it and it went just as well as the entire wedding. 

After the cake, Steven and Frances left for the airport. They had a busy eleven days coming up. As Frances hugged Jim and Blair together, she whispered, “I hope you have good news for me when we get home.”

“Don’t you think about anything but you and Steven for the next eleven days. We’ll see you when you get back,” Jim said as he hugged her back.

As they left, everyone threw bird seed, because they don’t throw rice anymore. and it was the perfect ending for the perfect wedding.

~~~~~

When Jim and Blair arrived home, Jim asked, “Would you mind if we went to the station to see how the case is going?”

“Wouldn’t mind it at all. I’d like to meet Linda and talk to her about some specialists that deal in rape survival.”

“I would like to have a class taught at the station about how to cope with these types of cases. I wasn’t prepared at all and thank God, Megan was there, so she took over completely. We all should know who to contact and what to say or do. Do you think you could talk Simon into a class at the station like this?” Jim asked. 

“That is an excellent idea. I’m really proud of you for suggesting it. I’ll handle Simon, you have to make sure everyone goes to the classes. That can be your job.”

They changed clothes, and drove to the station to find it hopping. There were FBI agents all over the bullpen. 

Simon called Jim and Blair into his office, right away. “Just wanted you to know that we are officially off the case. FBI SVU took it over and they have a lot more man power than we do. Connor already went up to the hospital and introduced the specialists who are going to work with the victim. So, there is no need for you to be here. They’re collecting all the paperwork right now and will be gone shortly. Get out of here. Go home and relax.”

“Thank you, Simon,” Blair answered as he walked out the door. 

“I thought they would at least want us to work with them on it,” Jim said, disgustedly. 

“Jim, you’re the one who called them in, so don’t give me a hassle for doing what you wanted.”

“You’re right, of course. Talk to you tomorrow morning,” Jim said before he left the room.

~~~~~

**Eleven days later:**

Jim decided to put a new faucet in the kitchen and was busy doing that, while Blair was just cleaning the house. The phone rang and Jim knew Blair wouldn’t hear it with the vacuum going. Jim got off the floor and answered it, “Ellison.”

“Hello there, this is Nicole Davis. I was calling to see if we could set up the interviews with you and Blair. It took a little longer then we had planned but now everything seems to be on board. We have an opening in two weeks, if you’re available.”

“Yes, two weeks will be fine. Whatever date it is, we’ll work it out,” Jim answered. 

“Then how about the 13th, at 8:00?” Nicole asked. 

Jim wrote it down, smiling the entire time and said, “That will be perfect. Thank you so much.”

“You will be interviewed by two other people that you haven’t met before, I didn’t want you to think it was me and Daniel doing the interview,” Nicole explained. 

“We’re looking forward to it. Do you need anything else?” Jim asked.

“That will do it. Good luck, Jim.”

Jim hung the phone up and rushed out of the kitchen to find Blair. He found him in one of the spare rooms, polishing the furniture. 

“Guess who just called?” Jim asked excitedly. 

“Nicole?”

“Wow, you’re a good guesser. We have an appointment on the 13th at 8:00 in the morning. I can’t believe they finally called. I honestly thought they had just decided to not allow us to become foster parents. It seemed like it took forever and now we have to wait another two weeks.”

“Everything takes time, Jim. We just had to be patient. See, it paid off.”

“Oh who do you think you’re fooling? You were worried about it too? Every time we saw a child your heart would beat faster and you would get this sad look on your face,” Jim said. 

“Seriously? I thought I was keeping the worry to myself, pretty well. Just shows you what I know.”

“That’s why I didn’t say anything. I knew you were trying to be brave all by yourself,” Jim teased. 

“Oh shut up,” Blair kidded, back. 

“I wonder who we have to see?” Jim said. 

“Nicole didn’t say anything about having to see a psychologist for the state. We’ll do just fine,” Blair assured Jim. 

“I sure hope so,” Jim replied. 

They both knew that the next two weeks were going to be hard ones, but they knew that they had to wait and see what happened. They also knew that once the interviews were over it could still take a month or more before they heard anything.

~~~~~

Jim couldn’t keep his mind on anything these days. When they went over to Steven and Frances’s house to see them after their trip, Jim couldn’t stay focused for ten minutes. Now, he was having trouble at work. Simon was going to call him on it, if he didn’t straighten up. Blair wasn’t much better. This was the longest two weeks of their lives. 

Simon barked, “Ellison, my office.”

Jim frowned and stood up. Megan Connor walked by and patted Jim on the back and said, “I’m glad it’s not me he called in there.”

“Thanks, Megan,” Jim said, very sarcastically. 

Jim knocked and walked into Simon’s office and said, “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Oh knock off the sir shit. You and Sandburg are worthless these days, waiting for that interview. I’m giving you the next three days off so you can drive each other crazy at home, instead of here.”

“Thank you, Simon.”

“You’re welcome, now leave.”

Jim smiled and left the office. He grabbed his jacket and told Blair, “We’re off for the next three days.”

“All right, that sounds good to me. Let’s get out of here.”

Rafe asked, “Did Simon spring you for a couple of days?”

“Geeze, were we that bad?” Jim asked. 

Brown laughed and said, “Just nervous tension and it made you a little grouchy. Once those interviews are over with, you’ll feel better.”

“Then it’ll be another wait after that,” Blair reminded everyone, “we can’t expect to get off every time we’re frustrated, so we’ll try and get a handle on this.”

Megan smiled and patted Blair on the back. “We’re here for you, Sandy.”

“You’re all the best, thank you,” Blair said as they walked to the elevator and got on. 

As soon as the door shut, Jim said, “Honestly, I’m nervous about the interview.”

Blair was shocked. “Why?”

“Because, I believe that they will be looking for anything and everything we say or do, incorrectly. That’s like a field day when it comes to me,” Jim confessed. 

“Jim, you’re being paranoid. Calm down and we’ll take this slow. We’re in no rush for this anyhow. Right?”

“Blair, I’m getting older and I was hoping to help raise a child before I was my dad’s age,” Jim said. 

Blair burst out laughing. “You mark my words, you’ll probably do better on the interview then I do. I’m willing to make a small wager, although then they would ask if we gambled and we would have to say yes.”

“You always know how to make me feel better. Thank you,” Jim said. 

They got off the elevator and climbed into the SUV and started for home. Jim was actually glad to have a couple of days off. He was sure Blair felt the same way.

~~~~~

That afternoon at the house, Jim heard the doorbell ring and went to answer it. It was Steven and Frances. He opened the door with a big smile on his face. 

“Come on in, what are you up to?” Jim asked. 

“I was bored and thought I would discuss some names with you and Blair and get your opinion because my new husband has no taste.”

Jim threw back his head and laughed. “Steven, you’re going to have to agree on something. What are the names you don’t like?”

“I don’t like any of the names she’s chosen for a boy. Where is Blair?” Steven asked, looking around. 

“Let me get him, he’s doing laundry. I’ll be back,” Jim said. He took off for the laundry room and hoped he and Blair weren’t going to witness a first fight for Steven and Frances. 

He poked his head in the laundry room and said, “We have company and they’re fighting.”

“Who is fighting?” Blair asked, looking concerned already. 

“Steven and Frances. They’re fighting over baby names already,” Jim said. 

“Oh, how cute. Let’s get out there and help them out,” Blair replied. 

Both men walked out into the living room and found nothing but quiet. That was worse than the arguing. Jim sat down across from them and said, “So, Frances, what name is your favorite?”

“For a boy, Harper Jude. I love the sound and the look of it, and Steven said no son of his was going to be named Harper,” Frances said, angrily. 

Blair smiled and said, “I love it. It is an old English name for one who plays the harp. Nothing wrong with this name at all. I really like old English names.”

“You haven’t heard the best part yet. She wants to use Harper for either a boy or a girl. Do you believe it?” Steven was in shock. 

“Harper Lee is the author of To Kill a Mockingbird and she’s a woman, so it could be used for either gender. I like Harper for a girl, too. What is the middle name you’ve thought about?” Blair asked, Frances. 

“Harper Joy, is what I like for a little girl. What do you think, Jim?” Frances asked. 

“I like both of them. They aren’t real common, so no one else would have that exact name. I like it. Why don’t you think about it some more, Steven? It’s a good strong name for either gender. It’s not a wimpy name at all. In fact, why don’t you name him Harper Jude Steven Ellison or Harper Stephanie Joy Ellison?”

“I like my name being in it somehow. That would be good, I think, but seriously, you both like the name Harper? What if they call that baby, Harp? What would you think of that?” Steven asked. 

“I would think I would have to smack them,” Blair answered. 

“So would I, Blair. I’m not real fond of nicknames anyway. Although, Jim reminds me of a Jim, so that’s all right.”

Jim smiled. “I hate nicknames, too, Frances. I was called Jimmy for years and still do get it from my uncles and aunts. But yet, Steven was called Steven.”

“Did you ever call him Stevie?” Frances wondered. 

“Yes, I called him that all the time, but when we were older I decided to call him Steven. The name suited the man he grew into.”

“The name does suit him,” Frances agreed. 

“Did anyone ever call you Fran or Franny?” Jim asked. 

“No, thankfully. I was lucky. No one ever called me anything but Frances.”

“I call you Fran sometimes,” Steven says. 

Jim smiled and said, “Well, stop it.”

Blair looked over at Steven and said, “What names do you like?”

“I was thinking of naming the baby Steven Junior if he was a boy or Stephanie if she was a girl.”

“I don’t like the Junior names myself. I think it’s confusing to have that many people with the same name. Plus I like using Steven as the middle names anyhow,” Blair said. 

“Exactly what I told Steven. I don’t care for the name Stephanie at all, but as a middle name I could handle it. I didn’t want a little Steven running around the house. I was really stuck on the name Harper. I know that sometimes I’m stubborn,” Frances said sadly. 

“Maybe Steven could think on the name Harper a little more and learn to like it. If it’s Harper Jude Steven or Harper Stephanie Joy, he might grow to love it. Steven, you could call the baby that while it’s in her belly and see if you warm up to it,” Blair suggested. 

“I guess I could do that.”

“Really? You would do that for me,” Frances asked. 

“Frances, I would do almost anything for you. I was blindsided by the name Harper, but now that two other people think it’s a cool name, I would probably go with it. In fact, let’s count on calling the baby Harper while he’s in your belly.”

Frances went into his arms and kissed him soundly. “Thank you, honey. I’ve loved this name since I first heard it as a child.”

“Steven, are you hoping for a boy?” Jim asked. 

“I don’t care as long as the baby is healthy. Why, did you guys want a boy for us?” Steven asked Jim. 

“No, I couldn’t care less. I will love little Harper no matter what he or she is. I think it’s great that you’ve already decided on a name for him or her. That’s half the battle right there,” Jim said. 

Blair said, “I haven’t talked to Jim yet, but I know he won’t mind me saying this. I was wondering if we could do the nursery for you? I don’t mean, we would choose the things you need, I mean we would pay for it so that his or her room will be ready when he or she is born.”

Jim smiled over at Blair and said, “Good one, Chief. I think that’s a great idea, before everyone in Frances’s family tries to take over. Just kidding, Frances.”

“They are already trying to take over. We just told them one day ago and they are driving me insane. I don’t even want to tell them the name we chose, because I can tell you they won’t like it.”

“We don’t want to be pushy, but we’d like to do the room for Harper. Do you agree with us?” Blair asked. 

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. Blair, what about you and me doing the design for the entire room?” Frances said. 

“What a great idea. And Steven and Jim could be in charge of putting all furniture together and hanging shelves. Sound good to everyone?” Blair asked. 

Frances was really into it. “We could all paint the walls and trim. I love the house and the room, so it’ll be perfect.” 

Steven smiled and said, “You both have made this pregnancy a real joy for us. I think this is going to be fun, when do we start?”

Frances frowned and answered, “They say you shouldn’t do anything until after you are six months along. We don’t want to jinx the pregnancy. So we’ll wait for a few months yet.”

Jim said, “Have you had an ultrasound? You look much bigger than three months pregnant.” 

Steven looked at Frances and said, “Are you further along?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to screw up the wedding. We’ll find out for sure when we see the specialist on Tuesday. I think I might be four months.”

“It doesn’t matter to me how far along you are. It’s still going to be a precious baby for us, so I’m happy either way,” Steven said and kissed Frances. 

Blair smiled. “Then if you’re four months, that’s only two months away to get the nursery ready. I like the sounds of that.”

Frances hugged him and said, “We just love you two.”

Jim hugged her next and said, “We’re crazy about you two, also.”

“Jim and Blair, would you like to go with us for the ultrasound? I know you’ll never have your own and I think you should be able to experience it. You would just see my belly is all, what do you think?” Frances suggested. 

“I would be so honored to go along for the first one. It’s something we’ll never get to do, so you’re right, we would love it. Wouldn’t we, Jim?”

“Sure…”

Frances smiled and said, “Mark it on your calendar. Oh, I’m going to have to call you because I don’t remember the date off hand.”

“Yes, just call us with the date. We’ll be there with bells on.”

“Enough about us, how are you two doing?” Frances asked. 

“Jim is nervous about the interview for the foster parent program. I am too, but just not as nervous as he is.”

“You boys are going to do perfectly. Stop worrying. I’m telling you, they’ll be lucky to have you. They called me and interviewed me about you. It was sort of exciting. I felt like you were both going to be getting some news soon,” Frances said, happily. 

Blair said, “Frances can I speak with you in the kitchen?”

“Sure,” Frances answered and followed Blair into the room. 

“I have to tell someone, so you’re it. Jim is killing me with too much sex. I swear it’s like he’s trying to get me pregnant or something. We not only do it every night, but sometimes, every morning, too. I’m exhausted.”

Frances couldn’t help but laugh and then she hugged Blair. “Tell him to slow down. He’s trying to make you feel better, when in all actuality; he’s probably just trying to make himself feel better. Talk to him tonight, Blair.”

“I will. Thanks, Frances.” Blair kissed her cheek and walked into the living room. A blushing Jim was waiting for them and Blair couldn’t help but snicker. 

Steven yawned and said, “I’m exhausted. Let’s get home and take a nap before dinner.”

“Okay. We’ll talk to you guys in the next few days and see how things are going. Try not to worry about anything and before long the time will be up. It’s going to go great. Trust me,” Frances promised. 

Jim hugged her and then hugged Steven. Blair did the same. They walked them out to their car and watched them drive away. Then they walked back into their beautiful home. 

“So you don’t want to do the ultrasound?” Blair asked. 

“I didn’t think you even noticed,” Jim said. 

“Yeah, I noticed, I just didn’t want to make a big thing out of it in front of Frances.”

“I think that’s a very private thing and we shouldn’t be included,” Jim explained. 

Blair smiled at him. “We’re going to do it, buster. So get used to the idea.”

They went into the kitchen to see what they were going to start for dinner. 

“So, I’m killing you with sex?”

“Yes, Jim, you are. I’m exhausted, aren’t you?”

“Actually, I’m super exhausted, but I wanted to make you happy during this trying time.”

“Every other night would work for me, man,” Blair said kissing his Sentinel. 

“You got it. Oh good, tonight we sleep,” Jim joked. 

“Now, let’s get busy with dinner,” Blair said.

~~~~~

Two weeks later, Jim and Blair went in for the interviews and it took much longer then they had planned. But they knew that once it was done, that was it. No more interviews. They were both told that they would be called with the results when the decision had been made. 

They went back to work afterwards and tried not to worry about it. They knew that it was going to be hard, but working would help pass the time. 

Jim and Blair were sent out to a call as soon as they arrived. A husband had killed his wife and children. As disgusted as Blair was, he still read the man his rights and put him in the patrol car for the ride to the station. 

Jim couldn’t understand how people could do that to their loved ones, but this happened quite often. Jim found it frightening. There was nothing to really do or say, the man had confessed to the policeman that got the call. It was just paperwork and pictures they would have to file.

~~~~~

One week later, Jim and Blair went with Steven and Frances to the doctor’s appointment for the ultrasound. Blair was so excited, he could hardly think. 

They whispered to each other in the waiting room and when they called Frances back, the three men almost raced to get back there with her. They laid Frances back and exposed her belly and started putting the gel on it. Then the doctor ran the ultrasound over her belly and said, “Do you all see the baby? You are definitely farther along then you had believed. Do you want to know if it’s a boy or girl?”

They all looked at each other and Frances realized that Jim must have already figured it out. “Yes, I want to know.”

“It’s a boy. You’re four months pregnant, not three. Everything looks good. His heart is strong and loud. Do you all want a picture of the baby?” The doctor asked. 

Jim was the first one to answer. “We would love one for our house. We could frame Harper and put it up for everyone to see.”

The doctor laughed and said, “I like that name. Very unusual and sounds nice.” He pressed buttons and little pictures came out of the machine and you could make out the baby in them, they were so good. Jim and Blair both had tears in their eyes when they looked at theirs. They hugged each other and then Frances and Steven, too. 

They left the appointment and went home to put the picture up. They were that excited. Not just Jim and Blair, but Frances and Steven were thrilled, too.

~~~~~

Two months later, Jim and Blair were busy planning the room redecorating when the phone rang. 

Jim answered the phone, “Ellison.”

“Hello, Jim. This is Nicole Davis. We finally got all the paperwork back and you and Blair have been approved for the foster parent program. We need you to come in to the office and sign some papers and tell us what ages of children you prefer. Can you come in sometime this week?”

“Nicole, we could come in today, if you have the time; we’re both off,” Jim offered. 

“That would be perfect. Do you remember where the office is?” 

“Yes, we sure do. Thank you for calling,” Jim said before he hung up the phone. 

Blair said, “We got the approval?” 

Jim picked Blair up and swung him around, kissing his neck the entire time. “We need to go and sign papers right away. As in now. So maybe you could call Frances from the SUV while we’re driving there.”

“She’s going to be so excited, Jim. I think she’s as excited about this as we are. Remember she said it takes a long time to get the results back, but they would come around. She was right. Man, I can’t believe that soon we might have a child of our own.”

During the drive there, Blair called Frances and told her why they weren’t coming over to do the room that afternoon. Blair was right, she was as thrilled as they were. 

When Blair got off the phone, Jim asked, “Could you call my dad?” 

Blair called William and told him the good news. William was almost as excited as they were. “Why don’t you and Jim come over to my house when you’re finished filling out the paperwork? I’d like to talk to you both anyway,” William said. 

“Sure, we can stop by on our way home,” Blair answered. 

Once he got off the phone, Jim asked, “Why do you think he wants to see us? Did he sound all right?”

“Jim, stop worrying, he sounded fine. He sounded happy. I think he wants to share in our news. Maybe we’ll take him out to dinner to celebrate.”

“That would be good. Let’s do that for sure,” Jim agreed. 

When Jim and Blair walked into the office of the foster parent program, they were all smiles. Everyone in the office knew that someone was very happy. 

Jim told them they were there to see Nicole Davis and they told them to sit and wait.

Jim and Blair began the waiting game again. There was a young man sitting in the waiting room, watching Jim and Blair like a hawk. Jim finally looked at him and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No. Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare, but Ms. Davis told me about two guys that were coming in today and I saw you guys and wondered if you were the two guys,” the young man said. 

“Well, we are two guys, but if you mean are we two guys together, then yes, that would be us,” Blair answered. 

“I meant no harm. I’m just not used to seeing two guys together,” he said. 

“No harm done. Have a good afternoon,” Jim said. 

The young man went back to reading a magazine and only staring at Jim and Blair occasionally. 

Nicole opened up the door and said, “Jim and Blair.”

They stood up and walked into Nicole’s office. Once they sat down she had them fill out and sign everything she had for them and then she leaned back and said, “So do we have an age preference?”

Jim looked at Blair and asked, “Do you have a preference?”

“No, any age is good for me,” Blair replied. 

“Same here,” Jim agreed. 

“Well, did you see that young man in the waiting room?” Nicole asked. 

“Yes, he was staring at us when we first got here, but it was because he’s not used to seeing two men together,” Jim explained. 

“He has nowhere to go. He’s 12 years old and has been in four foster homes. We keep hoping one will work, but he’s a handful. His name is Miles Grant. Would you be interested in meeting him and taking in a 12 year old?”

“I would love to meet him,” Jim replied, quickly. 

“First, we would like to hear all about him. Why didn’t the other homes work? How does he do in school? Is he a loner or an outgoing person?” Blair asked. 

“Let’s see if I can answer most of your questions. Honestly, he said they were mean to him in the other homes and ran away because of that. I don’t know that to be the actual case, I’m just telling you what he has told me. He doesn’t do well in school because he’s dyslexic and a loner. He has no friends to speak of and he’s a very unhappy child. I’m not sure he’s the right fit for you and Jim,” Nicole said. 

“We could try, though, am I right?” Blair asked, “I’ve dealt with people with learning disabilities and it’s a hard life. We’d like to give him a fair chance, wouldn’t we, Jim?”

“I agree. We can’t expect everything to be all rosy and perfect, that’s not the way life works out anyway. How does he feel about two gay men taking him in?” Jim asked. 

“He’s not too wild about it, but he has nowhere to go but with you, or he goes to a half-way house for unwanted children. They are as bad as it sounds,” Nicole explained. 

“Could we talk with him first before you do? And maybe we can get somewhere with him or at least give him a choice of where he could go,” Blair said. 

“I’ll bring him in and you two take all the time you need. I hope he works with you, because he’s like a little lost soul. I feel bad every time I place him in a home that doesn’t want him. I’ll be right back,” Nicole said as she walked out to the waiting room and got Miles. 

When the door opened both Jim and Blair looked up and saw a scared looking 12 year old. They wanted to make him feel at ease right away, so Jim said, “Let’s get down to business, Miles. My name is Jim Ellison and my partner’s name is Blair Sandburg. You can call us Jim and Blair. You probably don’t want to live with two gay men, am I right?”

Miles shook his head yes and continued looking at the floor. 

“The nice thing about it is that you don’t have to. There are other options for you, I’m sure Ms. Davis told you about them, am I right?” Jim asked. 

“It’s not a good place. I don’t want to go there,” Miles answered. 

Blair jumped in and said, “Then that leaves us. Which do you dislike more?”

“The half-way house. I know someone that went there and he hated it. He said he had made more mistakes in his life than he could get away from. I would go with you, if you understand that I’m not gay.”

Jim smiled and said, “Of course you’re not gay. We would like to try this out. There is a good school in our neighborhood and I think it would work well, starting at a new school and making new friends.”

“Would I get my own room?” Miles asked. 

“Yes, you would have your own room with a computer and a desk. Do you like computers?” Blair asked. 

“Sort of, I’ve never had one and I’m dyslexic and I need help with everything. Did Ms. Davis tell you how much trouble I had at the other houses?” Miles asked. 

“She sure did, but Blair used to be a teacher, so he’s good at helping with homework and things like that. Not that I’m not, but he’s even better. Did Ms. Davis tell you that we’re policemen?”

“No, she didn’t tell me that. I’ve been in trouble before. You might not want me,” Miles offered them an out. 

“Our work and home life are two separate things, so stop worrying so much. When would you like to move in?” Blair asked. 

“I have my bag in Ms. Davis’s office. I could move in tonight if you would let me.”

“We’ll let you, Miles. Now, let’s get Ms. Davis in here and we can tell her the good news,” Jim said opening the door to a waiting Nicole. 

“Come on in, Ms. Davis. Miles has decided to give us a chance and try it out at our house. When can we take him?” Blair asked. 

“His things are in my office, you could take him home tonight. Miles, are you sure you want to go with them? You don’t have to.”

“I sort of do, Ms. Davis. I have nowhere else to go,” Miles reminded her. 

“But we don’t want you going to Mr. Ellison’s and Mr. Sandburg’s house if it’s only for that reason. Is there any other reason?” Nicole asked. 

“Blair was a teacher and could probably help me with school work. Jim could help too. I like that about both of them, that they’re willing to give me a chance. So I figured I would give them a chance, too.”

“This sounds like it just might work out, Miles. I’m glad you’re giving them a chance,” Nicole said. 

“Thank you for finding them for me, Ms. Davis.”

“You are most welcome. Now, come to my office, all three of you, and we’ll get the papers signed and get Miles’s clothes.” 

They followed her into her office and signed everything they needed to sign and she took a picture of Miles for Jim and for Blair in case he was ever lost. She gave the pictures to each of them and they got ready to leave. 

“Thank you for giving us a chance, Nicole, it’s been a long wait, but it was worth it,” Blair said. 

“You are welcome.”

“I thank you, too. This is going to work out just fine, you wait and see,” Jim said as he opened the door for Blair and Miles. 

“Good luck, Miles,” Nicole said sweetly and Miles gave her a little hug, which shocked all of them. 

Jim said, “Follow Blair and we’ll get in the SUV and go to your new house. You can pick out which room you want. We have three spare rooms.”

“Cool,” Miles answered and followed Blair to Jim’s SUV. 

“This is your car?” he asked, somewhat shocked. 

“Yes, Blair has one almost like it, but his is in burgundy. I myself like greens better, than reds,” Jim said. 

“I like this color of green, it’s not real common. Or at least I haven’t seen too many of them in town,” Miles said. 

“Let’s get in and drive to the house and then you can tell us what you need. We’ll go clothing shopping, shoe shopping and every other kind of shopping you’ll need to have. Never feel bad about asking for something. If we can get it for you, we will,” Blair said. 

As they drove, everyone was quiet, so Blair decided he would break the ice. “Our sister-in-law is pregnant with a little boy and they’re going to name him Harper. What do you think of that?”

“I’ve never met a Harper before, so that’s neat, I think,” Miles said. 

“What is your middle name?” Jim asked. 

“Miles Carter Grant.”

“Oh, I like the name Carter, it sounds very dignified and grown up,” Blair said. 

Jim pulled into the driveway and pulled into the garage and Miles said, “This is where I’m going to live?”

“What do you think so far?” Jim asked. 

“This is the nicest place I’ve ever lived. I like it here already,” Miles said, smiling for the first time. 

Blair undid his seatbelt and said, “Come on, Miles, let’s pick out your room.”

“I can’t believe I get a choice.”

“There will be many choices here and sometimes they might not be ones you like, but we’re going to try and make your life happier than it has been,” Jim said. 

Miles followed Blair inside the house and Blair showed him each of the three bedrooms and Miles said, “I think I like this one, because it has a bathroom connected to it. Could I have this one?”

“This is now your room. There is a desk with a computer over there and you have a lot of room for having friends over to stay if that comes up,” Blair said. 

“Could you teach me how to use a computer, Blair?” Miles asked. 

“We’ll start this weekend, learning the basics. It’s going to be fun,” Blair promised. 

Jim poked his head into the room and said, “We were thinking about taking my dad out for dinner tonight, if that’s good with you. If it isn’t, we’ll just invite him over to the house for dessert to meet you.”

“That’s fine, but I don’t have any clothes better than I have on right now,” Miles looked defeated. 

“That’s not a problem. We’ve got plenty of time for shopping and you can pick out some new clothes. Blair is really good at helping with that. I’m more into shoes and backpacks,” Jim said. 

“So we’re going shopping right now?” Miles asked. 

“Is that all right with you?” Blair questioned. 

“It’s fine with me. I can’t believe I get a room like this and on top of that, I get new clothes. This is so great. Thank you, both.”

“No need to thank us, we’re here to take care of you. Now, let’s go shopping. Blair will you call my dad while we’re driving?”

“Sure I will. We’ll meet him at Claim Jumper at 6:30. That will give us plenty of time to shop, shop, shop,” Blair said, smiling. 

Once in the car, they all buckled up and Jim was impressed because he didn’t have to tell Miles to buckle up. Things were going well, so far. 

Blair pulled his cell phone out and called William. “Hi William, this is Blair. We were lucky enough to get a foster child today and wondered if you would like to meet him at dinner tonight, at Claim Jumper, at 6:30.”

“This is awesome news, Blair. How old is he?” William asked. 

“He’s 12. You’re going to like him and his name is Miles.”

“I have a cousin named Miles. It’s an old name, but a good one,” William said. 

“So is 6:30 good for you?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. Congratulations to both you and Jim. I can’t wait to meet him,” William said before he hung up the phone. 

“Okay, that’s all taken care of, Jim. Now, let’s go shopping at the mall. We’ll be able to find things all over the place and they have that fantastic shoe store there, that you like so much. I bet Miles will too. Do you love sneakers, Miles?”

“I do. I had a pair once, but someone stole them and I never got a new pair. Instead I had to wear these. They are two sizes too big for me,” Miles said. 

“Well, you won’t have that problem anymore. Now, let’s get down to business,” Blair said as Jim parked in the mall parking lot. 

Jim could tell Miles was nervous, but didn’t know why. “Miles, what’s bothering you right now?”

“How do you know something is bothering me?” Miles asked. 

“I can feel it radiating off your person. Now what’s wrong?” Jim asked again. 

“I don’t want you guys to go into the dressing room with me. Would that be all right?” 

Blair smiled and said, “That’s fine, but you have to walk out of the dressing room so we can see if it fits or not. Do you know what size you wear?” 

“I wear a size 14. And my shoes are size 8,” Miles said. 

“Let’s get started,” Blair said as he got out and Blair knew that Jim was upset about the gay thing, but Miles would get used to them as time went on. Jim was an adult and could figure this out on his own. 

They went to the shoe store first and got four pairs of sneakers in different colors. Then they got a pair of dress shoes and slippers. It was enough to get Miles started. Then they went to the clothing store that all the kids seemed to be going to and Miles picked out about 20 outfits. Although, Jim informed Blair that they aren’t called outfits for men. They’re sets. Miles was laughing about that. Next was underwear, socks and pajamas. Then they were officially finished, for that night, anyhow. 

After they put everything in the back of the SUV, Jim said, “What are you going to wear tonight?”

“I thought since we’re going somewhere nice, I would wear the pair of Dockers you got me and dress shoes,” Miles answered. 

Blair smiled at Jim and said, “I’m wearing jeans and sneakers. William will probably be wearing the same.”

Jim laughed and said, “Okay, we’ll all wear jeans and sneakers. How is that?”

“It’s perfect,” Miles replied. 

Jim said, “You’re going to like my dad. He’s pretty nice now that he’s trying to get into heaven.”

Miles started to laugh and said, “You guys are funny. I like that.”

“We’re not always funny, Miles. We’re going to have serious days when you might not even like us. But always know we’re doing it for you. Speaking of you, we’ll go get a list at the school tomorrow for school supplies and also a list of tutors to get you caught up with the rest of the class,” Blair said. 

“I get a tutor?”

“Yes, that will help you get caught up. There is nothing worse than being the new kid and being behind. So, we’ll get that taken care of first thing in the morning. Jim, will you go to work and explain that I need to be off for a few days to get Miles set up in school?”

“I’ll call Simon tonight and ask if we can both get off for three days. We’ve got the time coming, and then we’ll have more time to do things with Miles too.”

“Okay. Sounds good. Miles you’re stuck with us old guys tomorrow and the next day at least. When school starts, you can walk home from school since it’s only three blocks away, but you have to come right home and call us to let us know you made it,” Blair said. 

“So, you’re not going to take me and pick me up every day?” Miles asked. 

“Nope, you’re 12 and you’re old enough to know between right and wrong. We’re going to trust you,” Jim said. 

“When am I going to meet your sister-in-law?”

“You’ll meet Steven and Frances in the next couple of days, right, Jim?”

“Or you could call and ask them if they would like to meet us at Claim Jumper. Then Miles can meet his new family,” Jim said. 

Blair called Frances and she answered, “Ellison’s.”

“Hi Frances, would you like to meet us at Claim Jumper at 6:30 and meet our new foster child?”

“Oh, Blair, that is the best news I’ve heard all day. Yes, we’ll be there. I’m going to hug you and Jim so hard when I see you. You’ve waited a long time for this. How old is he?”

“He’s 12. He likes his room so far, loves his new clothes and shoes and wants to meet the family, go figure,” Blair kidded. 

“We’ll see you at 6:30. What is his name?” Frances finally asked. 

“Miles. Isn’t that a nice name? It suits him, you wait and see,” Blair said. 

“Talk to you soon, Blair,” Frances said before she hung up. 

“Where is your family, Blair?” Miles asked. 

“My mom is in India right now. Wait until I tell her the news. She’ll come back as soon as she can. I never met my dad and I don’t have any more family to speak of, so this is what you’re getting,” Blair said. 

“I like that there aren’t too many people to remember. Should I call your dad, Mr. Ellison, Jim?”

“You can if you want. He’ll probably ask you to call him something else. Who knows with grand-parents?” Jim replied. 

“So you think if I like it here, I could stay a long while?” Miles asked, timidly. 

“Oh yeah, that’s the goal to have you stay until you go to college,” Blair answered. 

They parked in the garage and began to unload all of Miles’s packages. He was very excited. Once he got everything in his room, he shut the door and Jim smiled. 

“He’s trying everything on again. He probably has never had new clothes before. This will be a new experience for him,” Jim said. 

Jim and Blair changed shirts on for dinner and Blair knocked on the door and said, “Miles, we’re going to leave soon, are you almost ready?”

Miles opened the door and Jim and Blair were impressed. He looked very cute in his jeans, polo shirt and matching sneakers. “How do I look?” Miles wondered. 

“You look great. Come on, let’s get on over there and get the table,” Jim said as they all walked towards the garage. 

Once they were driving to Claim Jumper, Miles said, “I’ve never had my own room. And especially a nice room like that. I love it. Thank you so much for the clothes, the shoes and giving me a roof over my head.”

“You’re very welcome, Miles,” Jim said, happily. 

“You’re a great kid and I see great things happening from here on in,” Blair replied.

~~~~~

When they arrived at Claim Jumper, Jim asked for a large table. They said it would be a 20 minute wait. “Oh well, we didn’t have anything to do yet, anyway.” Jim said. 

William walked in the front door and smiled at Jim and Blair and then saw the young man that was with them. He was a good looking child and cleaned up really nicely. William walked over to him and said, “I’m William.” Then he shook hands with Miles. 

“Hello, William, it’s good to meet you. Your son is really a nice man. So is Blair. I’ve never had a home like this before, so it’s really great.”

The two of them continued talking until Steven and Frances walked in. She went up to Miles and said, “I’m Frances and I welcome you into the family.” She then hugged the stuffing out of him. 

Miles smiled and said, “It’s good to meet you, Frances. I really like the name you have chosen for the new baby. Harper is a cool, cool name.”

Jim stood up and said, “Our table is ready, follow me.”

They all followed him with Steven talking to Miles about how great it was that he was living with Jim and Blair. 

The entire evening was filled with good conversation and happy talk about family and life in general. Before long Miles was yawning and looked like he was going to fall asleep. 

“I hate to be a party pooper, but I’m tired. We’re going to call this a night. Thank you all for coming out to meet Miles. And thank you, Miles, for accepting our family,” Jim said. 

“I’m tired too, Jim,” Miles said quietly. 

Blair almost laughed. They all said goodbye to one another and then they were in the SUV again, heading home. 

Jim looked in the rearview mirror and saw Miles sleeping and smiled and told Blair to look. 

“Kids are always so sweet and darling when they’re sleeping,” Blair whispered and then smiled. 

Once they got home, Jim woke Miles up and told him to get ready for bed. He had all of his toiletries in the bathroom off his room. Before long, he walked out and said, “Goodnight, Jim and Blair. I had a really great day and night. Thank you again for taking me in and showing me what life could be like.”

“We’ll see you in the morning, Miles. Sleep well,” Blair said. 

“Goodnight, Miles. If you need anything, you just yell. We’re right over on this half of the house,” Jim added. 

“Night.” Miles walked into his new room and shut the door quietly. He was exhausted and couldn’t wait to test out his new bed. That seemed strange, calling it his bed. He had never owned one before. Once, he had an air mattress, but that was about it. He slipped into bed and couldn’t believe how comfortable the bed was. Soft, but not too soft. Nice and warm and inviting. Miles looked up at the ceiling for a while and realized he might not be able to get to sleep right away for a few days. He was that nervous. That was the last thing he thought about. 

Jim sat on their bed and said, “He’s sleeping already. At first, I could tell he was nervous, but then all of a sudden, he was sleeping.”

“Good, that means he is comfortable with us and the house. We’ll both listen to be sure he’s all right all evening long. It’s weird, having someone in the house, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Chief, it is. It’s going to take us awhile to get used to him being around, just like he has to get used to us. Let’s lie in bed and you can talk to me until I fall asleep.”

Jim looked over and Blair was already on his pillow, sound asleep. Jim smiled and got in beside him and fell fast to sleep, too.

~~~~~

The following morning, Jim got up and Miles was already in the kitchen. 

“If you teach me how to start the coffee, Jim, I could do that when I’m up first.”

“Come here and let me show you how it’s done,” Jim said as he slowly showed Miles exactly how he liked his coffee. “Now, if Blair comes and tells you I don’t need that much coffee in the basket, ignore him. I love strong coffee.”

Miles laughed and sat back down at the bar. “Could I help make breakfast or something?”

“I was going to make pancakes; do you like to make them?” Jim asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve never had anything but donuts or cold cereal. This is my first time hanging out in a kitchen,” Miles answered. 

“We’ll go grocery shopping and get things you like today. Then we can stock the pantry. That way if you get hungry during the night, you could get something to eat.”

“Boy, that would have been great last night. I woke up really, really early and I was starving,” Miles admitted. 

“After today, you’ll never be hungry again. Let’s get the pancakes started, Miles.”

Blair was outside the kitchen listening and was filled with sadness at how much neglect this child had to go through all his life. He couldn’t be sad in front of Miles. Time to put the happy face on. Blair walked into the kitchen and said, “Good morning, Jim and Miles.”

“Good morning, Chief. Did you sleep well?”

“I did. How did you sleep, Miles?” Blair asked. 

“I can’t believe how soft that bed is in my room. I slept really well until my stomach woke me up from the growling.”

Blair looked sad for a moment and said, “You know this house is yours too, if you’re hungry, you come into the kitchen and see what’s in the fridge or the pantry. Never be afraid to eat when you need to. I remember as a kid, I was starving all the time.”

“That’s how I feel a lot. Thank you for making this place so nice for me. Are we going to my new school today?”

Jim started cooking the pancakes and answered, “As soon as we’re done with breakfast and we’ve had our coffee.”

They sat down and had breakfast, cleaned up, with Miles helping and got ready to go to school. Blair had already called and found out what they needed to do, so he was on top of things. 

In the SUV driving to the school, Miles said, “So I get to walk to and from school every day?”

“Yes. You’ll be getting a key later today and then you have to call us at the station as soon as you get home. Even if it’s just to leave a message saying you made it home in one piece,” Jim said. 

Jim parked and the three of them walked into the school. Jim could tell how nervous Miles was. He wished he could help him get through that, but they didn’t know him well enough to try and get close. For now, they would have to help from afar. 

They went to the main office and talked to the woman in charge, named Beth. “Good morning, Beth, my name is Jim Ellison, this is Blair Sandburg and this young man is Miles Grant. He needs to start school here and has just moved into our home. Here are his papers from his last school.”

Beth smiled as she took the papers and said, “It’s good to meet you Miles. Here is a list of school supplies that you will need.” She then typed into the computer all of the information on the paperwork and said, “Okay, here comes your schedule. You are starting the year late, so you don’t get to choose your electives you have to take what we have left.” She gave a printed out schedule for Jim, Blair and Miles. “Now, we’ll see you first thing on Monday.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Miles answered nicely. 

Beth looked stricken. “You can call me Ms. Wilson. Never ma’am.” 

Jim smiled and so did Blair. “Thank you so much for helping us get this handled so quickly,” Blair said. 

“You are most welcome, but you’re not done yet. We need all of this information filled out from both of you,” Beth said smiling. 

Jim groaned at the four pages they needed to fill out. But they both sat down with the clip boards and got busy. Before long, Blair took his up and Jim turned to Miles and said, “He’s always been an over achiever.”

Miles snickered and waited for Jim to finish his up, which did take a lot longer than Blair’s. 

When they were done, they went out to the SUV and got in. “Should we go shopping for the list right now?” Blair asked. 

Miles said, “That would be great.”

“Shopping it is,” Jim agreed. 

Blair laughed and said, “You have no idea how badly he hates shopping, so consider yourself very special.”

“Thanks, Jim.”

“You’re welcome, Miles.”

~~~~~

Shopping went off without a hitch and the weekend went well too. Jim and Blair had a barbecue and invited Brown, Rafe, Megan, Simon and Joel, so Miles could meet them.

Everyone enjoyed themselves and Miles was having a very good time. And Jim was fairly certain that he had a major crush on Megan. Jim knew that Megan knew too and kept winking at Jim. 

They played horseshoes in the back yard and then they all played basketball in the driveway until it was time for everyone to go. Blair showed them all up with his basketball skills. 

Once everyone had left, Jim said, “Would you like to help get the kitchen cleaned up?”

“Sure,” Miles answered. 

The two of them worked side by side at the sink, while Blair put all of the food away in the fridge. Before long, the kitchen looked just like it did before they started. 

“Thank you, Miles.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I really like it here. I’ve liked everyone I’ve met so far and I like you and Blair more than I have ever liked anyone. For the first time in my life, I feel like it’s going to work out,” Miles explained. 

Blair said, “We like you too, Miles. Thank you for accepting us.”

“I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed. I’m exhausted. I have to get up early tomorrow for school. See you in the morning,” Miles said as he walked off. 

“Night, kiddo,” Jim called out over his shoulder. 

“Night, Miles,” Blair said. 

Both men stood side by side as they watched the happy young man walk into his room. 

Jim locked up the house, turned off all of the lights and they went into their room and shut the door. He pulled Blair into his arms and said, “I love this. This wonderful feeling in my stomach. This is what we’ve been missing. I know things won’t always be as easy as they have been, but I’m still going to love it.”

Blair held Jim tight. “I’m feeling the same way. This is how life is supposed to be. Miles is going to have a grandpa, a grandma, aunt and uncle and soon a little cousin. This is a pretty great life Jim. We couldn’t ask for more.”

They just stood together for a long time, soaking up the love. They knew that they had finally gotten exactly what they had dreamed of.

~~~~~

**Three Months Later:**

Jim and Blair were sleeping when the phone rang at 4:30 in the morning. Jim answered, “Hello?”

“Jim, its Steven. We’re at the hospital. Frances started labor, so she’s giving birth this morning. I just wanted to let you know.” 

“We’ll be up shortly. Tell her to wait until we get there,” Jim kidded. 

“I don’t know if she can, Jim.”

“Steven, I was joking. We’ll be there soon. We can’t wait to see Harper.”

Jim said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. Blair was already up and getting dressed, trying to tame his hair. 

“I’ll wake Miles up and see if he wants to go with us,” Jim said as he started out the door. 

“Of course he’ll want to come along. He’s wild about Steven and Frances and I swear he’s as excited about the baby as we are.”

“Okay. I’ll get him up, then,” Jim said. 

Jim walked down the hallway and could hear Miles in the bathroom taking a shower. Miles must have heard the phone and then heard Jim talking to Steven. 

Jim went in and got dressed and brushed his teeth, almost bursting with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see Harper. 

Once both men were ready, they waited in the living room for Miles. Miles walked out smiling and asked, “Do I get to miss school?”

“I guess you do,” Jim said. 

“You needn’t look so darn excited about it,” Blair joked. 

“Hey, nothing is more important than seeing Harper for the first time,” Miles said, excitedly. 

“It is good news. Come on, let’s get up to the hospital and see our nephew and cousin,” Jim said, happily. 

As they drove towards the hospital, Miles said, “I forgot to tell you both something yesterday.”

“What?” Jim asked. 

“I got an A on my report that you both helped me do for science. The teacher was really impressed with the research I did and the drawings.”

“This is very good news, Miles. Congratulations,” Blair said. 

“I didn’t think it was good enough for an A, but the teacher sure liked it. He was impressed that I could draw that well. In fact, he asked me if you and Jim did it for me.”

“You’re kidding? Well, I’m not too happy about that. What made him decide that it was yours?” Blair asked. 

“He asked me to draw something I liked, so he could see for sure it was my work, so I drew a picture of the mountains in Sedona, Arizona. I told him we went there and I loved it. He said he totally believed me then. Don’t be mad, Blair. He was just making sure because that was part of the rules.”

“I know, but I don’t appreciate the fact that he thought you cheated,” Blair said. 

Jim chimed in and said, “A lot of kids cheat, Blair. You should know this more than anyone. And this teacher just wanted to be sure before he gave him the A. Stop worrying about that. We’ve got a new nephew coming into the world. That’s enough for our plate now.”

“That’s true. Hurry up, already…”

“Isn’t it freaky that we just finished the nursery last weekend?” Miles asked. 

“Yes, someone was looking out for us. Now Harper has his own room,” Blair answered. 

Jim rushed as fast as the law would let him and they found a good parking spot and got out and made their way up to the maternity ward. 

Jim could hear the women crying and screaming as he got off the elevator. He always wondered why some women screamed and some didn’t make any noise at all. He was hoping that he wouldn’t have to hear Frances suffer. 

Jim walked up to the desk, said who they were there for and the nurse said, “You’ll have to wait in the waiting room, right over there. I’ll let Mr. Ellison know that you’re here.”

Blair smiled and said, “Thank you, Rebecca.”

The three of them headed over to the waiting room across the hall and sat down for what they hoped wouldn’t be a long haul. 

Jim and Blair had told Miles about his senses they knew they would have to. It was something Miles could keep secret. Miles whispered, “Jim, can you hear Frances?”

“Yes, she’s in the delivery room right now. Steven is coaching her really well. He’s not panicking, just like they taught him to do. They’re telling her to push harder, so the head can make it out,” Jim said. 

“It’s so cool that he can do that,” Miles said to Blair. 

“Tell me about it. I’m jealous, big time right now,” Blair whispered. 

“He’s out and they are cleaning him up. The doctor said everything looked good. The nurses just told Frances and Steven that he weighs 6 pound 4 ounces and he’s twenty-one inches long. He’s got a good set of lungs on him. Now they wrapped him up and took him over to bond with Frances and Steven,” Jim continued. 

“This is so exciting,” Miles said. 

The nurse came out and said, “Is there a Jim Ellison here?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Jim Ellison.”

“You are the proud uncle to Harper Ellison, who is doing just fine. You’ll be able to see him in about a half-hour. So just relax until then. You could always go down to the cafeteria and get coffee,” Nurse Barker said. 

“We’ll do that, thank you,” Jim answered. 

All three of them walked down to the cafeteria and got coffee and hot chocolate. 

They took their cups upstairs to drink in the waiting room so they wouldn’t miss anything. 

About half-way through their drinks, Steven rushed out the door, so excited he looked like he was going to burst. Jim hugged him, really hard and said, “Congratulations.” 

Then Blair hugged him and told him the same thing. Finally Miles hugged him and said, “When do we get to see my cousin, Harper?”

“Right now, they moved him up to the front row so you can get a good look at him,” Steven said as he led the way to the nursery window. 

They looked down at the little guy that said ‘Baby Ellison’ and got tears in their eyes. He had a full head of hair, a nicely shaped head and darker skin. 

“He’s beautiful,” Miles said touching the glass, as if he could feel Harper through it. 

“Thank you, Miles. He’s going to be so lucky to have an older cousin to show him the ropes.”

“Steven, he’s just gorgeous. Where did he get the tan?” Blair asked. 

“Well, you know that Frances has some Italian in her blood, so maybe we got a little Italian.”

Jim hugged Steven once again and said, “You and Frances did a great job.”

“Thanks. We like him.”

“When can we see Frances?” Miles asked. 

This made all three of them feel so good. Miles had really grown close to Frances in the last month. “She should be in her room by now. Let’s go find her,” Steven said. 

She was in room 502 and sitting up and looking beautiful as usual. It was hard to believe she had just had a baby. That’s how good she looked. 

The first one over there was Miles. “I love my new cousin.”

“Harper is going to love you, too, Miles. I’m so glad you came up with the guys. I didn’t know if they would drag you out in the middle of the morning.”

“I heard the phone ring and heard Jim talking to Steven and I jumped right in the shower, so they couldn’t say no,” Miles said. 

She smiled and hugged him some more. “You’re going to be a fantastic older cousin and Harper is going to be blessed because of it. Now Jim and Blair get over here,” Frances ordered. 

Jim was first and didn’t say anything, just held her close. Finally he found his voice and said, “He’s gorgeous, Frances. You two made a wonderful baby.”

Blair was next with a huge hug and told her, “We can’t wait until you get to go home so we can all hold him. This is going to be so much fun.”

Steven stepped up by Frances’s side and said, “I think you should rest, honey. They said he would be coming in to nurse in about an hour. You better rest up for it.”

Jim said, “Come on everyone, let’s let Frances get some sleep. When do you get to go home?”

“Tomorrow,” Steven answered. 

“Then we’ll leave you alone up here and visit once you get home so we can see him up close and personal. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Blair said. 

“Night, everyone,” Frances called out. 

All three of them said, “Night.” 

Jim turned and asked, “Steven do you want to call dad with the news?”

“Already did, big brother. He’s thrilled.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Jim said as he followed everyone out of the room. 

They walked down to the SUV and got in. Miles was the first one to say something. 

“Thank you, Jim and Blair, for giving me such a great home, a great life and a great family. I’ve never had this before and I’m so happy,” Miles said. 

“We’re very happy, too. Thank you for being such a great kid and giving us nothing but good things in our life,” Jim said. 

“I agree with Jim. We’ve been truly blessed. Thank you for agreeing to give us a chance,” Blair said. 

As they drove home, Jim realized his heart was heavy from the weight of love. And this was fine with him. 

The end


	4. Room for More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: This is a sequel to William’s Boys, William’s Family and The Weight of Love and you really should read all three of the first stories before this one. 
> 
> Summary: Do Jim, Blair and Miles have room in their house and in their heart for a difficult little girl? 
> 
> Warnings: Kid fic. Angst   
> Genre: Slash-established relationship  
> Rating: Teen  
> Tags: Kid Fic, Angst and humor. Happy Ending.   
> Word Count: 7812

Room for More  
By Patt

 

Note: This is a sequel to William’s Boys, William’s Family and The Weight of Love and you really should read all three of the first stories before this one.

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/roomformorecover_zpsfb10ec36.jpg.html)

**Harper Jude’s First Birthday**

Miles was extremely excited about the upcoming birthday party. He adored Harper and couldn’t wait to give him his presents that Jim and Blair had let him pick out. Steven, Frances, Harper and Grandpa Ellison had all come to Miles’ Birthday party four months before that. So, it seemed only right to go to Harper’s happy and excited. 

Miles couldn’t believe that he had been with Jim and Blair for over a year now. He also couldn’t believe that he was thirteen years old. He never thought he would find a decent home and never would have thought it would be with two gay dudes. But, it turned out to be the smartest thing that Miles ever decided on in his life. Blair had gotten him caught up in school. Jim had helped him work on the computer until he knew it as well as his dads did. And yes, he was calling them dad and pop now. Blair was dad and Jim was pop. 

Miles walked into the kitchen and said, “Pop, have you seen my package that I wrapped for Harper?”

“Yes, it’s with our packages and it’s already in the car. Are you about ready to go?” Jim asked. 

“Yes, I’m more then ready. I can’t wait until he’s a little older, so we can do things together. I love having a cousin. And he’s so darn cute, too,” Miles admitted. 

Blair walked in and gave his son a quick hug. “He is cute, isn’t he? And such a nice little guy, too. He’s not a big ole brat like some kids are.”

“I would love him even if he was a brat,” Miles said, smiling. 

Now, it was Jim’s turn to hug his son. “You’re the best cousin, Harper could ever have. We decided that next week we’ll take the two of you for family pictures. We want you two to always remember these years.”

“Oh, Pop, you’re getting mushy now. Are we ready to go, yet?” Miles asked. 

“I am,” Blair answered. 

Jim smiled at his family and was filled with contentment. Things couldn’t be better. Miles was a perfect son to them and they had no complaints about anything.

As they got in the car, Miles said, “Dad, Naomi said she’s coming again next weekend and she wants to take me for the weekend. Would that be all right?” 

Blair smiled and said, “Well, it all depends on where she’s taking you. But, I don’t see a problem if it’s somewhere we approve of.”

“I can’t imagine your grandmother taking you anywhere we didn’t approve of,” Jim guessed. 

Blair looked at Jim and burst out laughing. “You do remember who we’re talking about, right? We’ll wait and see where she wants him to go with her. We don’t want her to take him somewhere we wouldn’t.”

They drove in silence for awhile until Miles asked, “Do you think Harper will like the present I chose for him?”

“Miles, anyone would love Baby Einstein Count and Discover Treasure Chest. He’s going to not only have fun with it, but learn at the same time. And it means even more to Steven and Frances because they know you bought it with your savings from allowance. They love you to death,” Jim said. 

“I love them too. They are the best Aunt and Uncle a kid could ever want.” Miles just smiled at both men when they turned around and glanced at him while at the stop light. “You know the only bad thing about having two dads?”

Blair looked surprised for a moment and finally asked, “No, what?”

“You can’t give me a baby brother or sister. I always wondered what it would feel like,” Miles said. 

Jim smiled at him and said, “We could see about fostering a child to start with, would that work?”

“You would take in another child? That would be great. Hopefully younger than me, because I want to be the big brother.” 

“We’ll look into it, next week,” Jim assured him. 

“Thanks, Pop,” Miles said, happily. 

Blair was shocked to hear that Miles wanted to share his home and heart with anyone else. He seemed so content and happy that Blair never would have guessed this. 

“Are we going to tell Uncle Steven and Aunt Frances about you guys adopting me?” Miles asked. 

“Yes, we’ll tell them today, after the party. Are you happy being a Sandburg-Ellison?” Jim asked. 

“I love being a Sandburg-Ellison. It was my lucky day when you two came into my life. I can’t believe how great my life has been,” Miles pointed out. 

Jim and Blair just grinned and silently thanked God for giving them Miles. He was one very special child. 

They arrived at Steven’s house and all got out, carrying their packages. Frances answered the door and hugged Miles first thing. “Uncle Steven is taking a picture of Harper for his baby book, but he hasn’t been cooperating. Maybe you could get him to smile, Miles.”

“I could try,” Miles said as he handed the package to Jim and walked over to where a grumpy Harper was fussing. He saw Miles and lit right up.

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/harper1stbirthday1_zps9bf3ffc6.jpg.html)

He instantly smiled and Steven snapped a few pictures of him. “My My,” Harper said, making them all smile. 

Harper called Miles, My My and Miles secretly loved it. Steven put the camera down and hugged Miles. “How you doing, dude?”

“I’m doing great, Uncle Steven. Can I pick Harper up now?” Miles was chomping at the bit. 

“Of course you can. You don’t have to ask, you know that,” Steven said, happily. 

At that moment, William walked in and asked, “Where are my Grandsons?” 

Frances almost laughed and asked, “Did you notice we didn’t even get a hello?”

They all laughed then and William still hadn’t said hello to any of them, he was off goofing around with Miles and Harper.

“While they’re busy, I have something to ask you and Jim,” Frances said to Blair. 

“What’s going on?” Blair asked, worried immediately. 

“Nothing is wrong, Blair. I came across a darling girl who is eight and they are trying to find a foster home for her. She has learning disabilities and she can barely read at all. So, she’s had a tough go of it. Her parents both died in a car accident and her grandmother didn’t want her. So, I’m trying to find somewhere for her to go. She’s a lovely child. Her name is Gabriella and I think you two would be perfect for her.”

Jim smiled and said, “It’s funny that you told us this because today Miles asked if we could add to the family. We’re already set up for another child. We have two spare bedrooms, so she could have her choice. But, we need to know if she knows about what gay people are. Some don’t deal with it well. Miles didn’t at first, but came around quickly, but we don’t want to pressure her at all. Where is she living right now?”

“She’s at a terrible group home for special needs children. That’s all that was open right now. We could probably go and talk to her today, if you wanted to,” Frances said. 

“Frances, it’s Harper’s birthday today, we’re not leaving for that,” Blair reminded her. 

“I just hate her in that home. It’s horrible, I’ve been there before. Maybe, I could take her and you boys could talk to her over here. What do you think of that idea?” Frances asked. 

“Frances, are you set up with the State to take in a foster child?” Jim asked. 

“Yes, we’ve always been on call, but when they called about her, I was hoping you both would take her, so I didn’t. Maybe I should take her instead,” Frances said. 

“Funny, I don’t see Steven going along with this right this moment. Today is Harper’s special day. Let’s let him have his day and Blair and I will go tomorrow and talk to Nicole about taking Gabriella,” Jim said, happily. 

“Do you promise not to leave her any longer than that?” Frances asked. 

Blair smiled and said, “We promise. We’ll try and get in tomorrow with Nicole.”

“I can call her right now. You guys go back to the party and I’ll be right out,” Frances bossed. 

“Frances, you’re going to go and enjoy your son’s first birthday party. You aren’t making a call until after all is said and done. Then you can call,” Jim said, sternly. 

“Okay, let’s go out and get this show on the road,” Frances said and left them all behind. 

Blair laughed. “I swear she’s more excited about it then we are.”

“It would seem so. Are you sure you’re up for this? Might take a lot more work than Miles,” Jim asked. 

“Children are never easy, Jim, but it sounds like she needs someone that would at least try and work with her,” Blair assured him. 

“Let’s go out and have cake and ice cream and ask Miles what he thinks of this. I think he should have a say in it, don’t you?” Jim asked. 

“Come on, we’ll take it as it goes.” They both walked out to a laughing Miles and Harper. Frances was just bringing the cake out as they appeared. 

She held Harper and they all sang Happy Birthday to him and then he helped blow out the candles. Jim knew that Steven had been practicing with Harper because he did a pretty good job of it. 

After cake and ice cream, Harper opened all of his presents with a little help from Miles. He started the ripping and Harper would take it from there. All in all, everyone had an excellent day. Steven stood up with a fussy Harper and said, “Goodnight, everyone, time for my nap.”

Blair laughed and said, “Frances you make Steven take naps. How did you arrange that? I want to make Jim do the same thing.”

Steven and Frances both burst out laughing and Steven said, “Very funny, Blair.”

Miles sat by Jim and Blair and said, “That was a good one, Dad.”

“He’ll probably come out and make me take a nap now,” Blair teased. 

Frances stood up and said, “I’m going to call Nicole and talk to her if you two don’t mind.”

“We’d sort of like to talk to Miles about it first,” Jim said. 

“Are we getting another foster?” Miles asked happily. 

“See, I told you he would be fine with it. It’s an eight year old girl named Gabriella. She needs a home in the worst way,” Frances went on to explain. 

“Let’s give her a chance Pop and Dad. If you wouldn’t have given me a chance, I don’t know where I would be today. Say yes,” Miles said. 

Blair smiled. “Okay, Frances give her a call and tell her we can take her as soon as possible.”

Jim hugged Miles and said, “You’re going to be a great big brother, I can tell already. Gabriella has learning disabilities and it’s not going to be easy.”

“Kids aren’t supposed to be easy, Pop. I can’t wait to hear if we get her or not. This is going to be great. I’ll walk her to school and pick her up afterwards. It’s going to be easier than you think.”

“I hope so, Miles,” Blair said. 

Frances came out smiling and said, “Nicole is checking right now and seeing when you can pick her up. In the meantime, she faxed over a picture of her so you can at least see who we’re talking about. This is Gabriella Smith.”

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/DSC00367_zps05ce3851.jpg.html)

Miles was the first one to say something. “Oh my gosh, she’s cute as can be. She doesn’t look eight. Is she small for her age?”

“I don’t know yet, Miles. You’ll find out soon enough,” Frances answered. 

“She really is a cutie pie. I can’t believe there aren’t people fighting to get her in their homes,” Blair said. 

“I just hope she is as nice as her picture appears,” Jim said, hopefully. 

“She’ll be fine, Pop. I just know it,” Miles added. 

The phone rang and Frances ran to answer it. She said a few things and then wrote something down. She hung up the phone and came back to them and said, “She’s ready now. Some of the kids at the group home just attacked her and gave her a black eye and scared the crap out of her. She’s been crying for an hour, Nicole said.”

“Did you get the address?” Blair asked. 

“Yes, Nicole said she could meet you there in ten minutes and sign all of the paperwork and go from there.” 

“Well, let’s get this address and get over there. I hate to leave on Harper’s birthday, but we need to take care of this today, I think,” Jim said. 

Frances smiled. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be over later tonight to see your new daughter and Miles’ new sister.”

Blair took the address from her and said, “You ready to go and meet your sister, Miles?”

“Am I ever,” Miles almost shouted. 

Jim and Blair knew he really was excited about it. They were glad that Miles was so easy to please. 

Steven came out and said, “You’re leaving?”

William came walking out of the kitchen with birthday cake all over his face. “You’re leaving?”

“They’re going to pick up their new daughter and Miles’ sister. It all happened while you were getting Harper to sleep and Grandpa was sneaking cake. We’ll see them tonight,” Frances explained. 

“Congratulations. So, you’re taking Gabriella? That’s great news. Good luck to all of you and we’ll see you later tonight,” Steven said as he hugged them all goodbye. 

Miles said, “Before we leave can we tell you our big news?”

Steven smiled and said, “You adopted Miles, am I right? Congratulations Miles, Jim and Blair.” Steven hugged all of them. 

Next was Frances. She was so thrilled. “Congratulations doesn’t seem like a good enough word for how I feel right now. I’m so proud of all of you. You’ve made a fantastic family. I love all of you.”

William hugged them all and said, “This is going to always be a perfect day to me. I’m so proud of you boys. All three of you, for making this new life work for all of you. Can I come over tonight and meet the new addition?”

“Of course you can come over Dad,” Jim answered. 

“We have to go now,” Blair reminded all of them. 

Frances hugged them again, thanked them for coming for Harper’s birthday and pushed them out the door. Once the door shut, Jim laughed. 

“She’s not subtle or anything, right?” 

“She wants everyone to be happy,” Miles said as he buckled into the seatbelt.

~~~~~

When they arrived at the address, Nicole was waiting by the door with a folder. They all got out of the SUV and walked up to her and said hello. 

“It’s good to see you all. I heard that someone just got adopted. This is wonderful news,” Nicole said. 

“It is,” Miles agreed. 

“It’s time to meet Gabriella. The home said she’s a pain, because she’s a cry baby. But she’s only eight, she’s all alone and has a black eye from some of the kids here. She’s probably scared to death.”

“We’re ready, Nicole, lead the way,” Jim said. He could hear her pitiful cry inside and heard the woman telling her to stop crying and stop being a baby. 

They walked in and Nicole said, “Where is Gabriella?”

“We had to isolate her from the group, because she was screaming and crying. You would think that Michael had broken her arm or something. I hope you know what you’re getting into,” Mrs. Martin said. 

“We’d like to meet her, if you don’t mind,” Blair said as nicely as he could under the circumstances. 

“Follow me,” she said. 

“Mrs. Martin, does Gabriella have a lot of things?” Jim asked. 

“She owns nothing. She didn’t even come with a change of clothing. I’ve not been happy with this situation at all. I’ve called three times to have her picked up and no one came. So, don’t blame me for how she looks.” Mrs. Martin opened the door and said, “Gabby, there are people here to talk to you.”

The little girl was small for her age. And one side of her face was swollen, the eye almost closed, it was so bruised and puffed up. Jim was having a hard time controlling himself. 

“Mrs. Martin what did the ER doctors say about the swelling in her eye?” Jim asked. 

“I didn’t take her anywhere. She’s just being a baby,” Mrs. Martin answered. 

“I’m going to have to write you up for this,” Nicole said, angrily. 

“She’s a brat anyhow. She cries about everything and nobody likes her,” the cruel woman said in front of Gabby. 

The little girl began to cry softly and said, “Please don’t make me stay here. The boys are really mean to me. They held me down and hit me this morning.”

“Gabriella, was it early this morning?” Nicole asked. 

“It was before Mrs. Martin was up. There were three boys and they said they didn’t like me. They kept hitting me over and over again. I don’t know why they don’t like me,” Gabriella said, pitifully. 

Miles didn’t ask, he just walked up to her and hugged her. “You’re going to go home with us if you want to. I live in a beautiful house, no one ever gets hit and we have tons of food. How does that sound to you, Gabriella?”

“What is your name?” she asked. 

“My name is Miles Sandburg-Ellison. These two men are my dads. And they want to give you a home too. What do you think about that?”

“Wow, that’s a long last name. You don’t have a mom?” Gabriella asked. 

“Nope, I have two dads instead. They are like a mom and a dad. They are gay. Do you know what that is?” Miles asked. 

“Yes, when two people love each other and they are both boys and both girls. My mom and dad told me about them,” Gabriella said. 

“Well, this is Jim, my Pop and Blair, my Dad and they are gay. Have you ever met gay people before?” Miles wondered. 

“My mom and dad had two sets of friends that were gay. They moved somewhere right before my mom and dad died. I miss them. They were really nice to me. Are you guys really nice to Miles?” 

Jim got down to her level and said, “We are very nice, but we have rules that you have to follow to keep you safe. But you never have to worry about either of us hitting you. That’s not something we do.”

“Then, I’ll go with you. Miles seems very nice. And you and Blair seem nice. I’ll try this if that’s okay with Mrs. Martin.”

“Oh sweetie, Mrs. Martin doesn’t have a say in it at all. First thing we’re going to do is take you to the doctor to make sure your eye wasn’t damaged. Then we’ll go home and let you pick out your room. How does that sound?” Blair asked. 

“That sounds pretty good. Thank you. Bye, Mrs. Martin, I’m sorry I kept crying. I was just sad.”

Mrs. Martin didn’t even answer Gabriella and walked back into the room with the other children. 

Nicole said, “You sign these really fast and take her to the ER while I go fill out paperwork for the complaint. They will no doubt ask for pictures of Gabriella and a statement will have to be taken. But that can wait until tomorrow. But not the picture. Please take that right away.”

Jim and Blair signed the papers and led Gabriella to the SUV and they all got in. Blair helped Gabriella get buckled into her seatbelt and Jim got in and started the car to leave. 

No one talked right away. The little girl was afraid again. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, honey, we’re made at Mrs. Martin. She let this happen and it shouldn’t have. There should have been someone watching you at all times. It’s not your fault, it’s hers and she’s going to get in trouble for that. It was her job to take care of you and she didn’t do that,” Blair explained. 

“I don’t want her to get in trouble,” Gabriella said. 

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Gabriella. We’ll take care of everything,” Jim replied. 

Miles looked over at her and smiled and said, “Do you like being called Gabriella?”

“No, I hate that name. I like Gabby. Mrs. Martin said it was a perfect name for me. It suited me. I don’t know exactly why but anyhow they all called me Gabby.”

“Then we’ll call you Gabby, okay Dad and Pop?”

“Miles, what do I call them?” she asked, quietly. 

Miles whispered to her, “You can call them Jim and Blair or you can call them Pop and Dad. They like either.”

“I’d like to call them Dad and Pop. It’s been a long time since I called anyone, anything, except Mrs. or Mr.”

“By all means, call them that, then. They love being called those names. The tall one is Pop and the one with curly hair is Dad.” Miles smiled at her again and she actually smiled back. 

“Are there any other kids at this house?” Gabby asked. 

“No, there will be only the two of us and our cousin Harper comes over two or three times a week. He’s one. He’s so cute, Gabby, wait until you meet him.”

“I’m going to have a cousin? Harper is sort of a funny name, but I won’t tell him that,” Gabby admitted. 

“His name is Harper Jude and his birthday is today,” Miles said proudly. 

Gabby smiled lopsided as it was with the swollen face and said, “I can’t wait to meet him. I love babies.”

Jim asked, “Gabby is your face or eye hurting you?”

“A little. But I’m fine,” the tough girl answered. 

They drove into the parking lot for the ER and she got nervous. Jim could sense it immediately. “Why am I here? The last time I was here I had to go to a home. I don’t want to do that again.”

“Gabby, you have to see the doctor. He’s going to tell us if everything is all right with your eye and face. Don’t worry, we’re leaving after this and taking you home. And once we’re home, I’m going to stay with you and Miles and Dad is going to go pick up some things for you to wear. How does that sound?” Jim asked. 

“You promise I don’t have to go to a mean home?” Gabby asked, sadly. 

“I promise,” Blair answered. “You’re going to be so happy with your room, Gabby. Wait until you see it. And we’ll get some new curtains and bedspread of your choice. Do you like Hello Kitty?”

“I love Hello Kitty, but I love princesses more.”

Jim laughed and said, “Then your room will be done for a princess.” 

“I get my own room?” Gabby asked. 

“Of course, Miles has his own room and we have our own room. You’ll have yours too,” Blair said. 

“Okay, I’ll see the doctor. I like you all very much. Thank you for taking me away from that place. They were really mean,” Gabby confessed. 

They grabbed the kids and went into the empty waiting room and Jim asked, “Could it be this easy?”

“Maybe someone is looking out for Gabby today,” Blair whispered, Sentinel soft. 

Jim ended up going in with Gabby to see the doctor and Blair stayed out with Miles who was a nervous wreck. 

“Dad, I could have stayed by myself.”

“We’re not thrilled about this neighborhood and anyone could come in and no one would even notice they were bothering you. Just relax and we’ll wait for them here.”

~~~~~

When the doctor came in he looked at Jim like he had done it to Gabby. “Doctor, we just picked Gabby up at a group home for children and she was hurt. We wanted to get a clean bill of health before she moves into our house. I wanted to be sure her eye wasn’t damaged. My name is Jim Ellison and this is Gabby Smith.”

“It’s good to meet you, Jim and Gabby. My name is Doctor Samson. I take it someone wrote someone up for this, am I right?” 

“You are totally correct. She’s being written up right now, but we need to find out if she’s hurt,” Jim said. 

The doctor was very gentle and said, “The swelling is the worst of it. Her eye is fine, Jim. She needs to have ice packs put on this swelling for two days off and on. And if she has any trouble with her eyesight after the swelling goes down, I would be surprised, but I expect you to bring her back if that’s the case.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor. We were quite worried about her. Three young boys beat her up at the group home.”

The doctor remained calm as he said, “I hope you’ll look into that, Jim.”

“I intend on doing just that. Don’t you worry about a thing. School has started, do we keep her out for a few days or what?” Jim asked. 

“I’m going to give you a paper that says where and why her face looks like it does and she can go to school as soon as most of the swelling is gone. Two or three days at the most, I would say. But I would suggest you take the paper with you anywhere you go, or people will think you did it.”

“Thank you, so much, doctor.”

“Yes, thank you, Doctor Samson. I like you. You didn’t hurt me or anything.”

“Has anyone hurt you besides hitting you on the face?” he asked. 

“No, not yet.” 

“Never, Gabby. Remember I said we have that rule about no hitting? So, you’ll never get hit at your new home.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot. I’m sorry. I get my own room with princess curtains,” Gabby said, happily. 

“Jim she seems to be fairly good considering. Take good care of her, she’s going to need it.” Doctor Samson said as he shook Jim’s hand. Then he shook Gabby’s. 

“Oh, I need you to document this with pictures for the police and the state agency,” Jim said. 

“We’ll send the nurse right in with the camera and give you copies of the pictures before you leave. The originals will be in her file here at the hospital. I’ll see you later, Gabby.”

“Bye, Doctor Samson,” Gabby said, smiling like a very happy child. 

The nurse came in and took pictures and told Jim to wait for the copies. Jim got them about ten minutes later in a manila envelope and they were done for the day. 

When they got out to the waiting room, Blair was chomping at the bit to find out what happened. 

“Guess what, Dad? The doctor said my eye is good. The swelling will be gone in two to three days. I have to stay home from school until that happens. Right, Pop?” Gabby asked. 

“You are correct. She’s fine. Just banged up a little. Now, let’s get home so we can put ice on your face, pick out your room and get you some new clothes,” Jim said.

~~~~~

They all walked out to the SUV and got in and Jim drove home. They all talked about the school she would be going to, the room she was going to choose and the sort of clothing she would like.

When they drove up to their house and into the garage she had her mouth open in awe. “This is where we are going to live?”

“Yes, Gabby, this is your new home,” Jim answered. 

Blair said, “Come on Gabby, Miles and I will help you pick out your room while Pop gets you some ice.”

She took Blair’s hand and followed them into the beautiful house. She kept saying, “Oh wow,” over and over again. Blair showed her both of the spare rooms and she chose the smaller one because it was close to her brother’s room. Miles just beamed when she said that. 

“Gabby, do you happen to know what size clothes you wear?” Blair asked, hoping that she might know. 

“I wear a size 8, but the pants are always too big because my mom used to say I was too skinny,” Gabby said. 

“And let me see your shoes, so I can see what size you wear,” Blair continued. 

She took off her shoe and handed it to Blair and he saw she wore a size 12. He then gave it back to her and said, “I’m going to get you all new clothing.”

“Thank you, Dad. You’re very nice. Miles was right,” Gabby said. 

Jim came walking in with a bag full of ice and said, “Okay, time to sit down and keep some ice on it. How about for an hour and then you can rest from holding the bag. We’ll try and do it four times a day. That should make the swelling go down,” Jim assured her. 

“Pop, I have a new room. It’s by Miles. He doesn’t mind, he said,” Gabby said, happily as she set the ice on her face, making a painful face. All three of the guys were feeling sorry for her. She must have noticed. 

“It’s not that bad. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Did they tell you that I can’t read very well? I can read, just not like everyone else does. So, maybe you better think about if you want me or not. I forgot to tell you that,” Gabby said, so sadly. 

“We already knew, Gabby and you’ll do just fine. Stop worrying about everything,” Blair assured her. 

“Well, I’m off to get new clothes and shoes. We’ll see you when I get back,” Blair said as he headed for the garage door. 

“Bye Dad,” Miles called out. 

“Thank you, Dad,” Gabby said. 

Jim caught up with him and said, “How do you know what size?”

“We figured it out while you were getting the ice. Now just relax with the kids and I’ll be back soon.” Blair kissed him quickly and walked out the door. 

Gabby snickered and said, “They kissed.”

“They do that a lot,” Miles said. 

“That’s nice. Do they ever hug or kiss you?” Gabby wondered. 

“All the time. You’re going to love it here, Gabby. And tonight Aunt Frances, Uncle Steven, cousin Harper and Grandpa are coming over to meet you,” Miles said. 

“But, I don’t have any clean clothes,” Gabby pointed out. 

“Dad is doing the shopping right now and he’ll be sure you have everything you need. Don’t worry, they’ll take very good care of you,” Miles said. 

“I can’t believe I get new clothes. Someone took my other things at the last house I was at. This is the best house I’ve ever been to. I hope I get to stay here awhile.”

Jim walked over to her and hugged her. “Gabby, you’re going to be here forever as long as you like it here.”

“I get to stay here like Miles does? And you’ll really be my Pop and Dad?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, you don’t have to worry about anything. This is your home now. Come with me and we’ll pick out some things for your room on the computer. That way they’ll get delivered to the house and we can get your room done up right. Keep that ice pack on your face, though.”

Gabby and Miles both followed Jim into the office and Jim pulled up Walmart and said, “Okay, now let’s pick out some princess things.”

Between Gabby and Miles they picked out everything that would make her room special. Jim spent a small fortune, but she was worth it. In five days, they would have everything delivered to the house. She was going to be like a real princess. Jim smiled at the thought. 

Jim took the ice bag from her and said, “Okay, that’s an hour. So, we’ll do it again in about three hours. Miles why don’t you show her some of your computer games? Or you can come with me into the kitchen while I make up dinner.”

“I’d like to watch you make dinner, if that’s all right with Miles,” Gabby said. 

“I’ll watch too. Pop and Dad are both excellent cooks, so you’re in for a treat,” Miles said. 

“What sort of treat?” Gabby asked. 

Jim and Miles both laughed and Jim explained what Miles meant. 

Then Gabby laughed too. Miles and Gabby sat on the bar stools and watched Jim as he made Meatloaf and got it in the oven. Then he peeled all the potatoes that he needed and put them on to boil. 

Gabby asked, “Are we going to have gravy with that? I love gravy.”

“He makes great, gravy,” Miles answered. 

“You’re just like having a mom, Pop,” Gabby said and both Miles and Jim started laughing. 

Once the potatoes were done, he added butter and cream cheese to make them richer and smoother. He let the kids lick the bowl once he put them in a baking pan. Jim liked his potatoes baked after they were mashed. 

Then he got the frozen green beans out and started them boiling. 

“I love green beans, Pop,” Gabby said. 

“Good, because we all do, too. Dad is home. Why don’t you kids go and help him carry everything in?” Jim suggested. 

They went running for the garage door and Miles opened it. “Can we help?”

“You betcha. I have a ton of bags here,” Blair answered, as he started handing bags off to each of them. It took three trips for everything, but they got it all into the bedroom. 

Blair went and got Jim and asked, “Do you want to see her new shoes, boots, slippers, clothes, robe and pajama’s? I even got her jackets for the cool nights and a winter coat when it starts turning colder.”

“I would love to, let me turn the beans off really fast and turn down the oven until I get back into the kitchen to watch it bake. We can’t have a burned meal, first thing,” Jim said, laughing. 

They walked in and Miles was helping Gabby get everything out of the bags. Gabby couldn’t believe all of the clothes Blair had bought her. She was in heaven. “Dad, I love everything. How did you know that I like boots and dresses?”

“I didn’t, the woman at the store thought you might like them, so I listened to her. I’m glad she steered me right,” Blair said. 

“Can I take a shower and put a new outfit on before dinner?” Gabby asked. 

Jim smiled. “That’s a very good idea. What would you like to wear tonight for dinner and meeting your family?”

“I’ve been practicing their names. It’s Auntie Frances, Uncle Steven, cousin Harper and Grandpa Ellison, right?” she asked. 

“You’ve got it,” Blair answered. 

I want to wear this pink outfit right here with the black shoes. Would that be all right?” Gabby asked both men. 

Jim picked out some underwear for her and socks and handed them to her. “There you go. Take everything into the bathroom and get ready. By the time you get out, dinner will be done.”

Blair said, “Let me cut off the tags first.” He did just that and she took off for the bathroom. 

“Dad, can I use the shampoo and conditioner in the shower?”

“You sure can. That’s your bathroom, now. Miles has his own off of his room. Now, get busy so we can eat,” Blair answered. 

Jim heard the shower start and said, “I’m going to finish dinner now. You guys could wash all her clothing up so it won’t be so itchy.”

“Good idea, we’ll do that while you finish dinner. Have fun,” Blair said as he walked back into Gabby’s room. He and Miles started taking tags off and separating into piles for laundry. Blair started the first load before Gabby even got out of the shower. 

She came walking out of the bathroom, looking like a new child. Her swelling was way down, it was less black and blue and she looked like a million bucks in her new clothes. 

Blair whistled at her and she smiled. “It’s cute, isn’t it?” Gabby asked. 

“It’s a darling outfit,” Blair replied. 

“We’re washing all of your new clothes so they won’t be so itchy. Dad suggested that,” Miles said. 

“Thank you. These ones are a little itchy, but not bad,” Gabby said, happily. 

Blair realized that Gabby would find something good in everything. She was a very uplifting child. Blair felt good about the move already. 

“Let’s get in and set the table,” Blair said. 

They all walked into the gorgeous kitchen and the table was already set. “Someone beat us to it,” Gabby said, smiling. 

“I was tired of waiting on all of you,” Jim teased. 

Jim put everything on the table and they sat down to eat. 

“Can I say Grace?” Gabby asked. 

“Certainly,” Blair said. 

“We have to hold each other’s hand, that’s how you do it,” she said. 

They all took each others hands and she said, “Now bow your head. Good food, good meat, good Lord, let’s eat, yay God.” 

Jim and Blair burst out laughing and she said, “Did I do it wrong?”

“You did it just right,” Jim replied. 

They all talked about anything and everything while they ate dinner. Gabby was fitting in rather quickly, Jim and Blair both noticed. She seemed so happy. 

“Who wants to help me with dishes?” Jim asked. 

Miles said, “I will. Gabby can do it tomorrow night, okay, Gabby?”

“That would be fine. Can we do more laundry, Dad?” Gabby asked. 

“Yes, let’s go get those things in the dryer, and start a new load so you’ll have some different clothes to change in to.”

They took off for that part of the house and Miles asked, “So, what do you think of her so far, Pop?”

“I think she’s going to fit in just perfectly, don’t you?” Jim asked. 

“I think so too.”

The two guys busied themselves with dishes and leftovers and talked each other’s leg off.

~~~~~

The doorbell rang and Jim knew it was his family and he went to open the door and smiled at the excited bunch in front of the door. Steven handed the baby to Jim and said, “Where is our new niece?”

“Hello, Harper, are you going to talk to Uncle Jim?” Jim said, ignoring them all. 

“My-My” 

Miles came running in and said, “Can I take him into the living room?” 

The walked into the living room and there stood Gabby, looking suddenly very nervous, which surprised Jim and Blair. 

Blair pulled her over to them and said, “Gabby this is Grandpa Ellison, Uncle Steven, Auntie Frances and your very own cousin, Harper Jude.”

“He is so cute. How old is he?” she asked, bubbling with excitement at seeing Harper. 

Miles said, “He just turned one. He doesn’t talk much yet, but he does say, My-My for Miles. Isn’t that cute?” 

Frances smiled and said, “Do they even notice we’re here?”

The adults all laughed and sat down on the sofa and chairs. 

William asked, “Gabby what grade are you going to be in?”

“Second, but I have to wait until my eye is better before I go to school,” Gabby said. 

“That makes sense. Does it hurt, Gabby?” William asked. 

“Oh it’s not bad, Grandpa. I’m used to it now. It’ll be gone in a couple of days. Doctor Samson said that, didn’t he, Pop?”

“Yes, Gabby, that’s what he said.”

Frances said, “Gabby come over here by me so I can see you better and ask you questions.”

Gabby didn’t hesitate once. She went right over there and this warmed Jim and Blair’s hearts to see her fit in so well. They both smiled at each other and Frances smiled at them, too. 

“So, what is your favorite color?” Frances asked. 

“It’s pink and I love princesses. Pop ordered a ton of princess stuff for my bedroom. I chose the bedroom next to Miles so I could be close to my new brother. This is a big house and sort of scary, you know what I mean?” Gabby asked. 

Frances hugged her and said, “Never be afraid in this house. Pop and Dad will protect you from everything, just like they do, Miles.”

“Oh, I know. I love living here and having a family already. Mine all died,” Gabby stated. 

“Yes, I’m sorry about your family, Gabby,” Steven said. 

“It’s been almost two years, so I can’t really remember them very much at all,” Gabby said. 

“Do you have pictures of them?” William asked. 

“I did, but one of the homes I lived it took everything away from me. I never saw their pictures after that.”

Everyone looked and felt sad for her, but she was making the best out of it. “I’m sure they would be happy with my new home.”

“I bet you’re right, Gabby,” William said. “How would you and Miles like to go to a movie tomorrow?”

“Miles has classes tomorrow, Dad,” Jim said. 

“He can’t stay home with Gabby until she goes back to school?” William asked. 

Blair said, “You know what? That’s not a bad idea. We can get her more ready for school and fitting in around here. A movie would be nice tomorrow, wouldn’t it kids?”

“Could we take Harper?” Gabby asked. 

Frances laughed and said, “Oh no, honey. He would be crying the entire time he was in the movie theater.”

“He doesn’t like movies, huh?” Gabby asked. 

“Not yet,” Steven answered, trying not to laugh. Steven thought she was the most cheerful child he had ever met. 

Jim asked, “Gabby would you like to help me get dessert and bring it out to the dining room table?” 

“Do I say Grace for dessert, too?” Gabby wondered. 

“Yes, you can say Grace for that too.”

They left the room and Blair said, “Wait until you hear her say Grace.”

Miles started laughing and then so did Harper. All of the adults laughed too, seeing how it was contagious. 

Jim and Gabby brought everything to the dining room table and put the high chair there for Harper to sit in. 

“That’s really nice that you have a high chair for Harper. Or did you have one hoping you’d get a baby?” Gabby asked. 

“We have it here for Harper. Actually, we didn’t decide on having another child join our family until we heard about you. You won us over, Gabby,” Jim said. 

“I guess that’s good, because I love it here,” Gabby replied and everyone smiled. 

They all got ready for dessert and had to hold each other’s hand and Gabby said, “Good food, good meat, good Lord, let’s eat, yay God.”

Everyone snickered and began to eat their homemade cheesecake. Jim looked around the table and realized, he was one of the luckiest men in the world. He had Blair, he had Miles and now he had Gabby. Jim knew things would be hard to start with, but they would get everything all figured out. 

When they were all finished, William walked up to Jim as he was clearing the table and said, “You have a wonderful family, Jim. I’m so happy I’m part of them, too.”

“I’m glad we’re all family too, Dad. I know it sounds weird, but your heart attack started everything rolling. Our lives have all gotten better because of that. For this, I thank you. I love you, Dad.”

William hugged Jim and then he hugged everyone else. Miles asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No, I just love having family and sharing my love with you all. I’m so glad that Jim and Blair decided that they had room for more in this household. Miles is going to be a great big brother, I already know. I love all of you,” William said. 

“I think you’re the best Grandpa ever,” Gabby said as she hugged him hard. 

They all went back into the living room and talked, laughed visited and laughed some more until it was 10:00. Gabby yawned and Harper was sound asleep in William’s arms. 

“I hate to call this an evening, but we’re all tired,” William said. 

“I’m tired too, Grandpa,” Gabby said getting up to leave the room. 

Jim said, “Gabby, say goodbye to everyone before you go get ready for bed.”

“Oh, I was going to get one of my stuffed animals and give it to Auntie Frances for Harper. I want him to have something of mine.” She took off for her room and Frances said, “You’ve got a keeper there, boys. I hope you know that.”

Miles smiled and said, “We do.”

She walked in with a pink Piglet stuffed toy and said, “Tell him in the morning it’s from me, okay?”

“I will honey. You have a good nights sleep and we’ll see you again in a few days,” Steven answered. 

Everyone gave hugs to everyone else and Jim walked them out to their cars. When he got back in the house Gabby was already in her room putting her pajama’s on. 

“Jim, I think we made a good decision today. She is a keeper.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more, Blair. Now, let’s go hug and kiss our children goodnight and tuck them in. Well, at least tuck in Gabby. Miles would freak out if we tucked him into bed,” Jim said, smiling. 

“My heart is full, Jim. Thank you.”

“Your welcome. It was my pleasure agreeing to this.”

And the two men walked off to hug their children and send them off to dreamland. 

The end


End file.
